It'll Be Alright, Red
by MissyMarauderette
Summary: In which an injured Lily is taken under the wing of the infamous Marauders. "I didn't care that I hated him, or that his mates were idiots. Because he was there. He was solid, and he was real." LE/JP! anything else is just friendship.
1. The Attack

**A/N: Sadly, the characters are not mine. However, after JKR decided to kill every Marauder, Dobby, and Fred, I have revoked her right to these characters, and claimed them as my own. Yeah! That'll teach her not to kill off all of my favorites.**

**Well. On to the story!**

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"And then he walked right up to the giant squid, and tried to give it a hug!" Alice exclaimed, gesturing violently with her hands as she recounted the marauder's latest adventure.

"That Black," Frank shook his head. "He's got guts. I'll give him that."

Lily snorted at that. "Yeah, but he's got no brains." she looked reproachful as Alice sighed.

"Lily, they're not as bad as you think. Maybe if you just got to know them.." she trailed off, looking at her boyfriend for support.

"Alice is right, Lily." Frank began, "I've shared a room with them for five full years. They're decent blokes, once you get to know them." He shrugged.

Lily looked at him in amazement. "Are you daft? They're idiots! They're mean, and repulsive, and just flat out stupid!"

Alice smirked slightly, "Even Remus?"

Lily paused. "No.. Not Remus. But look at Black! In the hospital wing again, and for what? Trying to convince the giant squid to wear a dress for class photos!"

"Actually," Alice inturrupted, "I think they wanted it in a tu-tu."

Frank chuckled. "That would explain why it got so angry."

Lily huffed. "I refuse to believe that there is a decent bone in any of them. I don't know what Remus sees in them! And Peter, too! He could be a great guy if he'd just stop with the stupid practical jokes!"

Alice sighed, raising her hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. You win." She laughed for a second as Frank coughed what sounded an awful lot like 'again'.  
Lily glared, opening her mouth for a second round of verbal sparring, when Frank quickly intervened,

"So, how about that Christmas break?"

"Smooth." Alice grinned at him

Lily gave a half laugh at his lousy attempt to be subtle. "I'm just staying here this year. Gotta get ahead for next year and all that."

Alice sighed. "Lily darling! There are far more _important_ things in life!" this being said, she gave Frank a peck on the lips, making the tips of his ears turn red.

"Very funny, Alice." Lily smiled, "but you know I don't want a boyfriend."

"Fine, a girlfriend then!" Alice yelled dramatically, throwing her hands into the air. "I don't care! Just have a stupid wedding so I can be your maid of honor! Girl, Guy, Centuar.. Anything! You can marry the giant squid for all I care! Just let there be frills and cake and dancing!" She proceeded to hum and waltz around the group, immitating the dancing she wanted.

"Actually," started Frank with a grin, "the giant squid clearly doesn't like frills. I'd go with one of the more human options. Much less life-threatening." Lily laughed, pushing both of her tormentors playfully.

"Alice, you're awful! Frank, stop encouraging her!"

Alice collapsed in a fit of giggles as Frank gave a mock salute.

Lily stood there, rolling her eyes."Why in the world do I put up with you two?"

"Because you love us!" exclaimed Alice as she and Frank draped an arm over each of Lily's shoulders.

"Because we're wonderful!" shouted Frank exuberantly, in her ear.

Lily laughed at her friends, thanking her lucky stars that she had them. "So, what are you two doing for Christmas?"

Frank and Alice both sobered up a bit. "Well.. Uhh.." began Frank.

"_S__omeone,_" Alice gave a pointed look at her boyfriend, "let slip that we've been dating for a few years. So his parents have demanded to meet me." she sighed.

"And in the process of asking her parents if she could spend a few days with my family, her family found out about me. So I have to do a meet and greet, as well." Frank looked slightly green as he said this.

Alice smiled sweetly at him. "Payback, my dear. Payback." Frank grumbled as they continued down the hall.

"Sounds like fun!" Lily grinned. "Does he know about your brothers' tests?"

"Tests?" yelped Frank, looking at Alice with a panicked expression.

"Umm... No." She replied to Lily, "I hadn't.. Gotten to that. Thanks so much."

She patted Frank on the arm. "It'll be fine, dear. Don't worry about it."

"Lily!" yelled a voice from behind them. They all turned to see Severus Snape running towards them, robes billowing in the wind. Lily's expression hardened.

"What do you want, Severus?"

He stopped as he caught up to them, pausing to catch his breath. "I just wanted, to talk to you." he panted.

She eyed him distrustfully, looking to her companions for their advice. They both shook their heads no, but remained quiet.

Lily sighed, her heart heavy. "Why should I?"

"Because," he paused, a sorrowful look on his face. "I just wanted a chance to talk. Please."

Lily turned to Alice and Frank. "I'll catch up with you guys, alright?". They looked disapproving, but nodded.

"We'll be around, okay Lily?" Frank said gently, wrapping an arm around Alice's shoulder.

She nodded, and watched as they began walking towards the library.

"Walk with me?" Severus asked, gesturing down a hall she wasn't familiar with.

She nodded, her feet moving of their own accord. "Sure." They walked a few minutes in silence before he finally broke it.

"I'm sorry."

He didn't look up from the ground. She watched him carefully, noticing his slight limp, the way his face looked older that ever before.

"I know."

It was all she could say.

He looked at her hopelessly. "I miss you, Lily. I want to be friends again."

She sighed, the weight of his betrayal still heavy on her mind. "Sev.." she began, not knowing where to start. "We-"

A cold voice interrupted her. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?" the color drained out of Severus Snape's face as he realized they had been cornered by Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black.

"Lucius.." he began, stepping between Lily and the two seventh years.

"Severus. I can see that our little, " he paused to smirk at Lily, "_chat,_ didn't seem to get through to you."

Severus set his jaw as he took another step forward, positioning himself directly in front of Lily. "She's harmless. Leave her alone. You promised, Malfoy."

Lucius smiled, pulling out his wand. "I remember no such promise. He turned the the girl at his side. "Do you recall any promise?" she shook her head, grinning darkly as she too pulled out her wand.

"Lily," said Snape as he grabbed his wand. "Run."

"CRUCIO!" bellowed Lucius

"SECTUMSEMPRA !" Severus snapped with a twitch of his wand.

The statue behind the tall blonde boy shattered as screams echoed through the hallways.

"Leave him alone!" Lily shouted as she pulled out her wand.

"I don't think so, dear." said Narcissa, waving her wand. "Petrificus Totalus!"

Lily froze against her will, eyes darting back and forth in a panic.

"You see," Narcissa began, pausing to grin as an extra loud scream pierced the air, "You are the cause of all this dear boy's," she paused, smiling deliciously as she found the proper word. "_Agony._"

Severus fell to his knees as Lucius dropped the curse. "Not.. true, Lily." He panted, tearstains on his face.

Lucius sighed. "Such a waste.. I'll deal with you later.". With a flick of his wand a bright red light hit the kneeling boy, throwing him into the stone wall.

With a wave of his wand, Lily was unfrozen, her wand flying to his hand.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" he asked her.

She glared at him, eyes full of hatred. Narcissa kicked her in the back of the knees, forcing her to the ground.

"How about now, mudblood? Do you have anything to say now?"

Lily muttered something, eyes still burning with fury. He grabbed her hair, forcing her head up to his.

"What did you say?" he hissed, spit flying in her face.

She stared him full on, then in a strong voice replied, "I said, 'Go to hell."

He threw her back onto the ground, yelling "CRUCIO!". Her shrieks of pain and his laughter bounced along the halls. Narcissa began kicking the writhing girl for good measure. After a few minutes, Lucius put his wand down, stilling his eager girlfriend. Squatting down beside Lily's head, he paused to smirk at her bloodied, shaking form.

"This is what people like _you_ deserve."

She glared at him, then spit in his face.

He jumped up, enraged, and kicked at her collarbone, a satisfactory '_snap!_' reaching his ears as he wiped the spit from his eyes.

"That is not how people of your heritage should act. I think she needs a little lesson in submission, don't you agree, Cissy?"

Narcissa nodded, the excitement plain on her face. "Yes! Oh, the things we could do to the stupid little wench.." she began pacing around Lily, imagining all the horrid things she could do to her.

"Lily!"

Lucius' head snapped around at the sound of the marauder's voice. "Ah, Potter.. And Sirius Black," he sneered. "Long time, no see." The two marauders glared at him, wands ready.

"What do you think you're doing, Malfoy?" asked James, fury clear on his face.

Lucius waved his hand with a laugh. "We're simply.. Cleaning up, " He sent another crucio at the bloodied girl on the floor, then continued. "Surely purebloods such as yourselves would understand." With this both he and Narcissa hit Lily with curses, his a dark orange, hers a sick yellow.

The two black-haired boys watched in horror as the red head made a gasping noise, her chest rising into the air, then hitting the ground with a dull, hollow thud.

"STUPIFY!" they roared together, aiming for Malfoy. Narcissa ran down the hall, satisfied with her work. Malfoy ducked under their spells, firing curses the boys had never heard of. One hit the wall behind them, and James was crushed under the resulting rocks. A scarlet burst hit Sirius in the leg, and it snapped with an awful pop. James, freeing himself of the stone and seeing his friend go down, gave up with his wand and punched Lucius in the face. Malfoy looked shocked, then quickly returned the favor, clipping James in the temple. Taking advantage of his enemy's temporary confusion, Lucius ran down the corridor after his girlfriend.

After a moment of trying to gain his bearings, James made his way to Sirius' side. "You okay, mate?"

Sirius' face was pallid, his jaw clenched. His pant leg was stained a dark sticky red, a bit of white bone showing here and there.

"Fine. Lily." he gasped, managing to look concerned through his pain.

James nodded, looking grim. He rushed to the redhead, fearing the worst.

"Lily? Lily.. Please be okay." he reached out to touch her, hesitating. He grabbed her hand, feeling broken fingers. It was deathly cold, and covered in blood. "Lily no.." he reached out to feel for her pulse when she whimpered. "Lily!" he whispered, relived she was alive. Her head turned slightly, her eyes open but unfocused.

"James?" she asked in a very weak voice. She sounded terrified.

"Shh," he comforted, awkwardly trying to find an unbroken spot on her frail form.

"Sirius!" James was happy to hear Remus' voice.

"What happened?" asked Peter worriedly, examining Sirius' leg.

"Lily." was all Sirius managed to croak out. Peter knelt, trying a few healing spells to stop the bleeding as Remus rushed over to Lily and James.

"What happened, Prongs?" he asked, checking the cut that was dripping blood down James' face.

James' winced, "Malfoy and his girlfriend were torturing Lily. Think we were too late." His hazel eyes were clouded in pain as he tried to remember healing spells.

Remus looked at Lily, used to seeing wounds like these on his friends. "These are dark spells. We need to get her to Madame Pomfrey." Remus carefully scooped her up, trying not to jostle her injuries. Peter darted over to James.

"I'm going to need some help. He needs potions, not spells. And Severus Snape is collapsed against the wall over there." he nodded toward the black-haired boy. "It looks like he's been crucioed too."

Remus looked at the boys, still very aware of the broken girl in his arms. "James, will you be okay to help them to the infirmary?

James nodded an affirmative. "We'll take care of him. Just get her to Poppy." Remus nodded grimly at the other boys before taking off as fast he could towards the hospital wing.

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"Oh Merlin!" exclaimed the healer in horror as Remus entered the infirmary. "What happened?" she asked in a panic, ushering him to a bed where he laid Lily down as gently as he could.

"Slytherins." He responded. "I don't know what she got hit with. The cruciatus, for certain, but past that.." he trailed off, looking worried.

Madame Pomfrey bustled around the girl's body, muttering to herself. It was at this moment that the others came in.

An unconsious Snape was in the middle, his arms slung around James' and Peter's shoulders. Sirius was using James as a crutch.

James' head was still bleeding, though not as profusely, and Peter had apparently found a pain relieving spell, as Sirius' face wasn't as pinched as it had been before.

"I want Mr. Black in this bed," ordered Pomfrey, pointing to the bed next to Lily's. "Mr. Potter, you can go sit in the bed next to his once you've gotten him situated. Put Mr. Snape on that bed over there." she gestured to the bed in question. Taking a moment to examine the other two boys, she began dabbing at the blood on James' face.

"Mr. Pettigrew," she said without looking up, "Am I correct in assuming that that is not your own blood on your hands?"

He nodded an affirmative, looking down as if seeing the blood for the first time. "Scorgify" he whispered, cleaning them off.

"Take a seat," the healer ordered, again without looking up from her work. "I want the whole story once these four are stabilized." She tsked, looking at the injured students. Conjuring a patronus, she told it, "Albus, you are needed in the infirmary wing at once.".

As the spectral bird flew away, Remus and Peter watched the witch bustle around, praying that everything would be alright.

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**A/N: And**_** there we have it! Chapter one. Reviews are really appreciated, considering that I've never done a chapter story before!  
This is looking like it's going to be about twenty chapters, but I won't be surprised at all if it goes longer than that.  
**__**Let me know what you want to see happen, too. Who knows.. Maybe I'll let you influence my story line. ;D  
Please Review, it makes me smile, and smiles make the muse work**_** faster!****  
****-MissyMarauderette**


	2. The Hospital Wing

**A/N: Hello lovelies! This is a few days later than I intended, but life just got in the way. Don't worry though, I won't make it a habit! ****Chapter three should be here no later than Friday night. Now let's get to the good stuff! **

**For the wizarding world! (Narnia reference. Anyone? No? Well... I thought it was funny...)**

**Disclaimer: Nope. Shocking, I know. But.. No.  
**

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The first thing I was aware of was darkness. The second was pain. It was everywhere, eating me from the inside out. 'Am I still in that hall?' I thought to myself. 'Was James' voice just a dream?' I froze as I became aware of voices from on my right.

"No, Prongs. She still hasn't woken up."

Was that Sirius? My foggy mind wondered. He sounds tired.

A new voice entered the room.

"We'll be down soon. There's still a few more students in the common room."

That was James. What in the world was he talking about? I could hear him. He was in the room. I tried opening my eyes, just a crack, but nothing changed.

"Alright, mate. Don't get caught!"

That was Sirius again. Why was it so dark in here? I opened my eyes completely, trying to move my head so I could see around a bit better. Nothing changed. I could hear breathing, and smell the earthy scent of herbs and magic. Hospital wing, I realized.

"Hello?" I whispered, cringing at how weak my voice sounded.

"Lily!" exclaimed a voice I recognized as Sirius. "You're awake!"

"How long was I out?" I asked, confused at the relief in his voice.

"Four days," he said. "You took some pretty nasty spells."

I groaned. "Trust me," I cleared my throat. "I know."

"How do you feel?" he asked in a whisper.

"Like I got ran over by a herd of hippogriffs. What time is it?" I asked, my head finally starting to clear.

He paused, and I heard some rustling from his general area.

"Just past midnight."

"How'd you check without a light?" I asked him, wondering how he could see anything in the pitch black room.

"The moon's pretty bright tonight, plus Poppy left a lamp at the end of the room."

My heart fell straight to my toes. "What lamp, Sirius?" I heard his breathing stop, I could feel his confusion.

"The lamp right there?"

I paused. Then realized what he was doing.

"Sirius, That is an awful prank to pull on someone!" I exclaimed with as much vigor as my damaged vocal chords could manage. "You're such a git, Black."

His side of the room got quiet for a bit, then I heard him whisper,

"Lumos!". He paused. "Evans, look at me, would ya?"

I turned my head in his direction, rolling my eyes at his mistake.

"You did the spell wrong, idiot. The room's still dark."

But when he gasped, I knew it wasn't because I'd insulted him.

"Sirius?" I asked, trembling. "What's going on?"

"Your eyes!" he replied, "they're all.. Misty!" I heard him swallow a few times. "Lily, what color is your blanket?" I was about to answer him, when I realized what he was doing. I scoffed at him, feeling foolish for having been duped twice by the same joke.

"How am I supposed to know, Black? It's too dark, remember?"

I heard a click from the nightstand beside my bed.

"Better?" he asked.

"Umm.. No?" I asked, my confidence beginning to flicker.

"Lily?" he whispered.

"Sirius?" my voice came out in a strangled noise. "Is there actually light in here? You swear?"

He sounded as scared as I felt when he whispered back, "I swear."

"Oh Merlin." I whispered, shocked.

I heard him moving around, then heard unsteady footsteps.

"I'm gonna sit down, okay? He asked in a strained whisper.

"Okay." I said, too shocked to think. I jumped as I felt a hand on my shoulder. It pulled away quicker than it came.

"I'm sorry!" he said, sounding scared.

"No.. I'm sorry." I told him, shaking all over again. "You scared me." he 'hmm'ed in response, waiting. After regaining my bearings, I waved my hand in front of my face a few times. I sighed, because nothing had changed.

"Sirius?" I asked, reaching out a tentative hand towards the weight on my bed.

"Right here, love," responded a gentle voice as his hand guided mine to his face. It felt bristly and warm.

"I.. I can't see." I stated in a monotone voice. I took a deep breath. "I'm blind." and with that, I erupted into tears. It scared me a little when big arms wrapped around me, but he was too gentle, too warm, and too Sirius to be anyone else. I didn't care that I hated him. I didn't care that he was an idiot, or that his mates were gits, or anything of that sort. Because he was there. He was solid, and he was real. He smelled like woods, and faintly of smoke, and just a hint like dog. And I was blind, but he was there.

I clung to the marauder I so desperately hated, and I cried until my sightless eyes had no more tears to give. After what felt like an eternity, I wiped my face, still clinging to his chest.

"I'm sorry about that.." I said, completely humiliated.

He patted my back gently. "Don't worry about it."

I sat up, letting go of him. I felt a bit woozy as the blackness all around me seemed to come rushing towards my head. I whimpered, reaching back for Sirius.

"Why can't I see?" I asked him, hoping it wasn't permanent.

"Well.. I don't know. Dumbledore took a look at you when we brought you in, but he didn't find anything wrong except for all the broken bones. He said only time would tell. Those gits really did a number on you. I guess it was one of their hexes that caused it."

She shuddered, thinking about the attack. Then she remembered something.

"I heard voices, earlier. I think it was the other marauders?" she asked, curious.

"Ah yeah," he said, and she felt him look around. "That was a... Special device. They should be here soon."

She frowned, wondering what kind of device it was. But before she had a chance to ask, footsteps sounded at the far side of the room. There was muttering and the sound of fabric as they got closer and closer.

"She's awake!"

I recognized the voice as Potter's'. "You told me she wasn't awake!" He said in a hurt voice.

"Why are you on her bed, Padfoot?" Peter asked, trying to keep the innuendo from his voice.

I looked in their direction, still trying to process everything.

"Guys," said Remus, his voice strained, "Hang on."

I felt the air in front of me change as he knelt in front of me. I heard his hand go back and forth a few times.

"Hello Remus," I sighed. "You figured it out awfully fast."

He was quiet for a moment before answering,

"Well, I figured there had to be something drastically wrong if you were letting Padfoot go anywhere near you."

I laughed at that, even though my whole body still felt like it was on fire. "I guess he's not so bad." I admitted. I felt Sirius' chuckle as he gloated,

"Ha, Prongs! She warmed up to me before you!"

I felt the bed dip on the other side of me as someone sat down. "That's alright," said Potter. "She'll marry me." I rolled my eyes. I was about to reply to that when hands came out of no where, and picked me up, depositing me in their lap. I shrieked.

Well, I shrieked as best I could for a girl who had been tortured for as long as I had. I couldn't help it. I was in pain, surrounded by what used to be my mortal enemies, blind as a bat. And on top of that, I didn't even know whose lap I was in. Fear came crashing down as I did the only sensible thing I could think of.

I started bawling.

"Shh, Lily.."

"You scared her, you idiot."

"I didn't mean to!"

"Maybe we should just leave her alone.."

"She didn't do so well with that. Thus how you found us?"

"Good point. Someone she's used to then"

"She hates us. Who's she used to?"

"Well clearly she's used to Padfoot."

"Hey!"

"Moony's one of her best friends.."

"I don't think that's-"

"Good point. Here, Moony."

And with that I was somewhat gently deposited into someone else's lap.

I breathed in the smell of parchment and woods as he patted my back awkwardly.

"You have to keep in mind that she was tortured. She can't see you. She doesn't know that you won't hurt her."

Someone scoffed at this.

"But we wouldn't hurt her!" James said, perplexed.

"I know that. Just give her some time," Remus reminded.

The marauders were silent for a while before launching into another conversation. I was too tired to care, and I simply sat there until I was lulled to sleep by Remus' heartbeat and the steady sounds of their murmuring.

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**A/N: What do you think of caring Sirius? I'm sorry to those who wanted a Lily/James fluffy scene, but rest assured it will happen! All in good time. :) **

**So press that little blue button! Tell me what you thought of kind Sirius, how you feel about Peter Pettigrew, and your favorite flavor of pie. Because these things matter, dear readers!**


	3. The Release

**Well, here it is! I almost didn't make it, and it's much shorter than I would have liked, but it's the best I could do. My mom instituted a black-out this week, which rendered me unable to use my iPod (Which is where I've been writing this.). I'm the eldest, so it's up to me to set the example for my siblings and all that. Anyways, thanks for sticking with me! Hope this is everything you wanted. :)**

**_Disclaimer: Hmm... *looks around wildly* What do you know... The Marauders aren't here. And they're not mine, either, you say? *sigh* Why must life be so hard?_  
**

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"I can't believe you three! You were specifically told that you were not allowed in here!" Madame Pomfrey chastised in a loud whisper.

The troublemakers made a half hearted attempt to look shamed from their positions around their two injured comrads. James was standing to the right of Sirius' bed. Sirius, whose leg had been completely shattered, was sitting up in the bed, grinning from ear to ear. Peter was in the chair to the left of his bed, hiding a smile behind his hand.  
Remus laughed, turning into a cough from his place in the chair next to Lily's bed. Lily herself was sleeping quite peacefully, her auburn hair flowing around her shoulders as her chest rose and fell rhythmically.

"But Poppet," Sirius said with the saddest face he could muster. "I needed them here. For moral support. Evans woke up last night!"

That stopped Madame Pomfrey's lecture on respectful names.

"She woke up last night? Was she okay? Did she have any confusion? Were there any injuries I missed? She hit her head very hard.. Why didn't you come get me?"

The last part was almost a shriek, so great was her fury. They all turned as the redhead in the bed sat up.

She tilted her head from side to side a few times before cocking her head to the left. Hearing multiple sets of breathing, she sighed.

"Bugger. I was hoping that was just a nightmare." She flopped back down on her bed, sightless eyes staring up at the ceiling.

The Marauders all looked at Madame Pomfrey sheepishly, then at Remus, who sighed.

"She woke up last night," he told the healer. "She couldn't see." He shrugged.

The girl on the bed snorted. He made it sound so simple. Pomfrey made her way to Lily's bed.

"Sit up for me, would you, dear?" Lily complied as the healer muttered some spells, tsking over this and that. "Now, look at me." she commanded, examining the misty green orbs. "Hmm..." Said the old witch, looking pale and sad and outraged. "I'm getting Albus. Since it would appear that I can't remove you," She looked at the marauders, "I want you to make sure she has everything she needs." She hurried out of the room.

"Don't leave them here!" Lily yelled. She sighed when no one answered. "She's already gone, isn't she?"

Remus chuckled. "Yup." Lily crossed her arms, looking frustrated.

"So, Red. How'd you sleep?" Asked Sirius.

"Don't call me Red." she snapped.

"But we're friends now!" he exclaimed in a mock-hurt voice.

"We are NOT friends, Black."

"I think we are."

"No. We're not."

"You seemed pretty chummy last night," Peter interjected with a laugh.

"Hey!" The two embarrassed teenagers said in unison.

"See," said James. "You're even talking like best friends. Hey wait! Padfoot! How could you? I thought WE were best friends!" he shoved Sirius into Peter. A scuffle ensued, the three boys pushing and shoving one another until a small chuckle from the other side of the room halted them.

Albus Dumbledore grinned like a delighted child, his spectacles perched on the end of his crooked noise. Madame Pomfrey looked outraged. The boys froze; mid-fight, as if that would disguise the fact that they had been rough-housing in the hospital wing.

Madame Pomfrey opened her mouth for another stern lecture, but Dumbledore stopped her. "Now, now, Poppy. The boys meant no harm."

The healer looked affronted, then huffed. "I'll be in my office if you need me." she rushed away, not wanting to have to deal with the marauders for another moment.

Dumbledore conjured a rather large, overstuffed chair between the feet of the two beds and sat down. He looked at all of them for a moment before speaking.

"Ms. Evans.. How are you feeling?"

She turned her head towards the sound of his voice. "Sore, but okay. Well.. If you ignore this." She waved her hand in front of her face.

"Ah, yes." the headmaster said. "Most troubling. Poppy informed me that there didn't seem to be a cause for it. Would you mind my taking a look?"

She shook her head. He walked to her bedside, talking to himself under his breath as he examined her eyes. After a few moments, he finally addressed the group who was waiting with bated breath.

"It would appear that Madam Pomfrey is correct. I do not know when, or even if, you will regain your sight. I'm sorry, Ms. Evans."

Lily's face was emotionless as she slowly asked, "So, I may be like this for the rest of my life?".

"I'm afraid so."

She nodded, almost to herself. Then her face crumpled as she began sobbing. The marauders sprang into action, trying to comfort the poor girl. Remus wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

Sirius limped over to the other side of her bed, plopping himself down next to her. "Don't worry, Red. We'll take care of you!"

"Yes!" agreed Peter from his spot near the foot of her bed. "We'll make sure you get to classes okay."

"And I can help you with notes and such." Remus offered.

"I'm sure Alice wouldn't mind helping you with anything you need in your dorm," James interjected.

Lily sniffed, laughing at their helpfulness. Dumbledore smiled at his students.

"Yes, Mr. Black. It would appear that you and Ms. Evans are friends."

Lily reddened as she realized that the headmaster had heard their discussion earlier.

"Hah!" exclaimed Sirius, doing a fist pump. "First marauder to befriend the great and terrifying Lily Evans! I told you she wouldn't be able to resist my charm!"

The other Marauders groaned at him. The five began exchanging insults and good-natured teasing. The boys being especially kind, did everything in their power to cheer the sightless girl. Dumbledore smiled as he went to speak to the elderly healer.

As they walked back into the room, the solemn looks on the students faces were enough to cause concern. Lily was standing between the two beds, grasping Remus' arm. Her pajamas had been transfigured back into her school robes. The marauders had positioned themselves around her protectively.

"I want to go back to the common room." Lily stated.

"Absolutely not." Madame Pomfrey shook her head, making towards the group to force Lily back into bed.

"Wait just a moment, Poppy," interrupted Dumbledore. "Miss Evans, can you tell us why you feel that leaving the hospital wing is in your best interest?"

Lily took a deep breath. "I've already been here for five days. That means Christmas break is in two days. I would like to be able to wish my friends a merry Christmas before they leave. I've missed a week of classes, which I would like to get caught up on, and the boys already told me about Malfoy and his girl friend disappearing from Hogwarts, so it's not like I have to worry about them, and if I'm going to live the rest of my life like this, I would like to get used to it while I'm still here, and can use magic to make it easier." She cocked her head, waiting for the rebuke.

Dumbledore nodded once. "Alright."

The Marauders and Lily at once began fighting for her freedom.

"But Sir!"

You can't-"

"Wha-"

But they fell silent as the Headmaster's words sunk in.

"Really?" James ventured, hopefully.

"Really." and the Headmaster just smiled.

* * *

**So there it is! Let me know what you thought of the Marauder's sudden chivalrous streak, and throw in your favorite type of cookie while you're at it! (Trust me.. It's important.)  
**


	4. Here Come the Men in Black!

**So, I've got a question. Do you prefer long chapters once a week, or short chapters every few days? I've always assumed that longer chapters were preferred, but recently I stumbled upon a story that was updated every day (wow!) with shorter chapters. It's called 'Shades of Gray' by Rainbow Breaker, if you're wondering.**

**This is a pip-squeaky chapter, I know. Really, it's pitiful. But it's the sample 'one chap every other day'. Let me know which you prefer. **

**Now on we go.**

**Disclaimer: We're on a fanfiction site... Do you really think I'm benefitting from this?  
**

* * *

The walk back to the Griffyndor common room was long and distressing. Lily was more tense than the marauders had ever seen, and they had seen (and caused) some of her most stressful life events.

Eventually, after a general amount of shuffling and rebuking one another, the marauders-plus-one manage to form a pack to encircle the pale girl for transportation. Remus, having some experience with muggles, soon explained to the others how those without sight adapted without magic, and though Lily vehemently refused the cane that was procured for her by the dashing Sirius Black, they soon came to an agreement and left the hospital wing. Lily had her arm laced through Remus' who was inconspicuously acting as her 'sighted guide'. ("Like a guide dog?" Peter had exclaimed joyfully, much to Sirius' chagrin and Lily's bafflement.) However, any hopes of flying under the radar were in vain, because, of course, the Marauders had to inject their own flair to the mix. Acting as body guards, the other three marauders had flanked the pair, with Peter leading their awkward triangle, and the two raven haired boys just behind the guide and the guided. It made for an interesting walk, as Thursday's classes had just let out.

"I can feel everyone staring," Lily muttered to Remus panickedly.

Remus patted her hand comfortingly. "No one's staring at you, Lily. Now, Sirius and James... Well.. They're.." he trailed off, shaking his head at the two boys.

"What are they doing?" Lily asked, near frantically.

"Well, they've transfigured their school robes into black muggle suits, and one of them transfigured large black muggle sunglasses." he shook his head, before remembering she couldn't see him. "I knew that letting Padfoot watch all of those spy movies was a terrible idea.."

Lily's face reddened even more, groaning as she buried her head in Remus' arm. "Just get me to my dorm, please, Remus." her voice was muffled, the tips of her ears red.

They reached the portrait, and the fat lady stared at the procession the marauders had gathered.

"pumpkin pasty," said Peter, ignoring her incredulous eyes.

The portrait swung open ever so slowly, still craning to get a look at what was going on. Peter pushed it open before turning to Remus and sweeping his arm dramatically towards the open door. James and Sirius turned to address the crowd as Remus and Peter helped Lily through the hole.

"Evans has been through hell the past week," Sirius started, looking fierce in his dark glasses and suit.

"So we'd appreciate it if you all would leave her alone." James began. "And you _will_ be leaving her alone." he smiled evilly.

"Evans has been taken into the care of the Marauders. Anyone who messes with her, messes with us. And I'm sure we all know what happens when we displease the majestic marauders." Sirius slid his shades down to better glare at the students, pausing to wink at a group of fourth year girls, who tittered excitedly.

"Now, if you'll excuse us," James said.

Sirius grinned once more. "We'll be on our way." And with that they darted through the portrait hole, transfiguring their attire back into school uniforms. They made their way over to the other half of their group sitting around the fireplace.

Remus looked pained at their gleeful expressions.

"You didn't hex anyone, did you?"

"Nope!" James laughed. "Did you get her to their dorm?"

Peter nodded. "Alice came down and got her."

"Poor Red." Sirius said solemnly.

All of the marauders stared at him.

"Now every girl in the school is going to be after her!"

James looked horrified, as Remus and Peter rolled their eyes.

"Siriusly, though." he grinned at his pun. "Alice is gonna have a bloody good time. I bet Red's up there freaking out."


	5. A Tumble

**Well, here it is. Sorry it's late! hasn't been letting me edit stories in my doc manager, which isn't good for proof reading!**

**It still feels a bit rough to me, but I'm leaving soon and won't have computer access until late tonight. So here we go! Not much plot action in this one, but I tried to sneak a little Jilly scene in to make up for it.**

**A big thank you to everyone who has commented, subscribed, and favorited this story! The next chapter should be up on Saturday. :)**

**Disclaimer: **Obviously not mine

* * *

"What am I going to do, Alice?" Lily sighed. She flopped an arm over her face, one leg sprawled off of her bed. Her empty eyes gave a glazed look to the ceiling.

"I don't know, Lily." Alice said simply.

Lily glared in her best friend's direction, her milky orbs not giving the desired effect. "Helpful. How am I going to live life like this, Alice? I wanted to be an healer! How am I supposed to help others if I can't even take care of myself? I'll never even have my own family! What am I going to do?"

Alice walked over to the distraught female, shoving limbs away to clear a spot to sit. She patted Lily's shoulder comfortingly. "It'll be okay, Lils.. Promise. You'll always have the marauders and me!"

"I don't want them anywhere near me!" Lily screamed, then began sobbing.

Alice pulled her into a hug.

"Listen, Lily. I know you hate them. I know. But you have to see sense. They risked their lives to rescue you! Madam Pomfrey doesn't know if Black's leg will ever be the same, and Potter still has the leftovers from a black eye. They even brought Snape to the hospital wing, just for you! You know how much they hate Snape.."

Lily sniffed, sitting up. "Is Sev okay? I wanted to ask, but I didn't think the marauders..." she trailed off.

Alice sighed. "Snape is fine. He woke up about an hour after the attack. Madam Pomfrey let him go on Monday, after classes let out."

Lily was visibly relieved. "Oh good," she breathed, falling back onto her bed. "He tried to protect me, you know."

Alice raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "He did?"

Lily nodded solemnly. "Yeah."

She appeared lost in thought for a moment, then asked,

"So, where are Mary, Marley, and Kayla?

"Lily, you're avoiding the topic at hand again." Alice prodded.

Lily grumbled. "Fine. Answer my question, then we can talk about the stupid marauders."

Alice rolled her eyes, "Mary and Kayla are watching the hufflepuff quidditch team's practice. Last I heard, Marley was riding skateboards around the black lake with Josh Alte."

Lily rolled her eyes, laughing at the two boy crazies. "Marley's got another skateboard?"

Alice grimaced. "Yeah... I guess she finally figured out how to transfigure one."

"I knew she wasn't in the library to work on her grades!"

"We all knew she wasn't studying, Lily." Alice reminded with a grin. "Just be glad it didn't turn out like her anti-pink crusade."

Lily shuddered, groaning dramatically. Alice just chuckled.

"So. Marauders." She said, poking Lily in the ribs.

Lily jumped a bit at the contact, then frowned, her eyes staring, blankly into the distance. "I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know, Lily? You have the hottest guys in school at your beck and call, and all you can say is 'I don't know'? Sirius Black, king player extrordinare, was injured while saving you! He's still got a limp! And you wanna know the best part?"

"What's the best part?" asked Lily tiredly.

"Last night, some girl told him off about disfiguring himself for.." she paused awkwardly, excitement momentarily forgotten.

"For?" Lily prompted.

Alice nervously drummed her fingers on Lily's leg. "Someone like.. Someone who's parent aren't.. You know..." she trailed off.

Lily sighed. "Oh. You mean a mudblood."

Alice started, grabbing her friend by the shoulders. "Don't you EVER call yourself that. If you weren't blind, I'd slap you."

Lily grumbled, then brushed Alice off her. "Fine, fine. What's so great about that?"

Alice bounced back into her glee, exclaiming, "He told her that it was worth it! And that you were loads more worthy than her or any of those pure-blood maniacs. Sirius Black! First time I've ever seen him serious, which is quite ironic, If you think about it.." she trailed off, muttering to herself about irony and spelling and eventually muffins.

Lily just ignored her, pausing to work out the last few minutes. After a while of puzzling, during which Alice had shouted, "Ah-HA! Of course it would be the pumpkin..", Lily finally broke the silence.

"Black really said that?"

Alice blinked owlishly, then focused her attention back on her blind best friend. "He did, Lily."

Lily nodded to herself, looking frazzled. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again.

Alice patted her shoulder again, then gave her a hug. "It'll be okay, dollface."

Lily groaned at the nickname, but her rebuke was cut short by a male yell.

"Oh ALICE! ALI-KINZ!" Frank bellowed from the foot of the stairs.

Alice's face went red, and she jumped up from the bed, running into the hallway before he got too many embarrassing names in. Lily stood up, pausing for a moment to gain her bearings. Using her hands to feel her way to the door, Alice and Frank's conversation became audible.

"You promised you'd teach me everything I need to know about your family!" Frank pleaded from the bottom of the stairs.

Alice glared at him, walking halfway down the staircase. "Lily needs me right now!"

Frank looked guilty, glancing back at the marauders who nodded encouragingly. "The guys are more than willing to take care of her.." he trailed off as he caught the furious expression on his girlfriend's face.

"They put you up to this?" she asked, her voice menacingly low.

Frank put his hands up, backing away as she walked down the rest of the stairs, glaring. "It-it's not like that! I-we-you-" his sputtering was cut off, however, by the fact that Lily had just appeared at the top of the steps. Eyes hazy and unfocused, she was concentrating very hard on finding the railing with her outstretched hands. Which is probably why she didn't realize how close she was to the steps.

She took a small step forward, her face taking on a panicked expression as her foot failed to find solid ground, and she began tumbling down the stairs. The marauders immediately raced over. Peter cast a slowing charm on the flailing girl as James leaped onto the stairs, arms wrapping around Lily as the stairway melted into a slide to protest the male presence. Sirius hurriedly transfigured the couch into a few large pillows, just in time for the damsel and her rescuer to hit them. A large cloud of feathers puffed into the air, then gently began raining down on them.

Remus leaned in to check for injuries. "Prongs? Are you two okay?"

James chuckled. "I'm fine. I think Lily here is bleeding though."

He looked mildly concerned, but still smiled when he realized she was clinging to him. He rubbed her back, whispering comfort that only she could hear.

"Lily," Remus tried again. "Are you okay?"

She sighed, detangling herself from James. "I'm okay.. I think I hit my head though." She put a hand to her forehead, then stuck it out in front of her. "Is this blood?"

James chuckled. "Yup.. Most certainly blood."

Lily paled, "Oh Merlin."

"What's wrong, Evans?" Sirius asked.

"Blood." was all she said, and her face looked pinched as her eyes screwed themselves shut.

Sirius looked rather amused. Peter looked confused. "You're afraid of blood? You- the girl who helps madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing?"

"I'm fine when it's not MY blood!" she gulped, grabbing the front of James' shirt so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Remus flicked his wand, healing her forehead. James muttered a spell under his breath, vanishing the blood from the trembling girl in his lap.

Sirius and Peter's stomachs both growled loudly. They looked up, glancing at James before settling on Remus.

"Kitchen time!" they exclaimed gleefully, grabbing the poor werewolf by either arm.

"James, Lily," Remus asked over his shoulder as he fought against the two preschool escapees. "You guys coming?"

James shook his head, not looking away from the still-trembling girl in his lap. "Nah.. We'll meet you down there later."

Remus nodded, following Peter through the portrait hole. Sirius winked at James before running after them.

James tentatively stroked her hair as they sat in silence. Eventually she grew still, color returning to her face. Yet still they sat in comfortable silence in their throne of pillows, Lily in his lap, rocking slowly back and forth.

After several minutes, Lily broke the silence. "Why are you guys being so nice to me?"

The bespectacled boy puzzled her question over for a moment before answering. "Why wouldn't we?"

"Well, you've never had a problem with being bullies before." she snapped angrily.

He winced, but said nothing.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" she asked, thoroughly angry.

"No." he stated, quietly. He changed the subject. "Would you like to go down to the kitchen with the guys? I can have Moony find Alice once we get there, if you can't stand being around us."

She appeared taken-aback, but let it go. "Sure." she seemed to realize where she was, because she blushed and proceeded to disentangle herself from his lap. "Sorry about that. I thought I was clumsy with my sight. But I'm a nightmare without it."

He grinned. "Don't worry. I'm sure me and the guys can escort you everywhere."

She groaned. "Ugh. Just what I wanted. To be babysat by the biggest prats in all the school."

She grew silent at his lack of a response.

He stood up, reaching down to grab her hand. "Ready to go?" he asked as he hauled her to her feet.

She nodded.

"So, uh, how would you like to do this?" he asked, unsure of how to guide her.

She frowned. "I really don't know. Remus seemed to have a good system though.." she held out her hand. "Can I have your arm?"

He brushed her hand with his own, then brought it to his arm.

They made their way out of the common room, James carrying her through the portrait hole.

"The rumor mill is going to have a field day with this," Lily sighed.

"Surely I can't be as bad as you think!" James exclaimed half teasingly.

She frowned. "I don't know, Potter. I don't know."

And for the first time since the incident, James was glad she was blind, because he couldn't keep the hurt off of his face.


	6. Seriously Sirius and Peter the Performer

**Hello all! **

**I've been working on this all day. At 4,257 words, it's possibly the most I've ever written in less than 24 hours. Seeings as I haven't done my usual amount of proof-reading, I don't feel that it's up to my typical standards. (That, and this laptop doesn't have spell check.) So yay for that. **

**This is part one of the day the train leaves. If any of you are confused about the time-line, the attack was on Sunday, Severus woke on Monday. Lily woke up late Wednesday night/Early Thursday morning. She was out of the hospital wing by supper on Thursday, the men in black and her tumble down the stairs happened on Friday, and it's now Saturday. Next chapter will go until Saturday night, then I'm hoping to cover a day per each chapter, which I will post once a week.**

**Thank you so much, readers, reviewers, and favoriters. I love seeing my email inbox flood with notifications! **

**I feel like there was something really important I was going to say.. but I have no idea what it was. So, Yeah! :) Read, Review, let me know what you wanna see.**

**Disclaimer: they're only mine in my dreams. D:**

* * *

"I can't believe it!" exclaimed Alice as she put the finishing touches on Lily's nails.

"I know, right? I even told him that I wasn't of age yet!" Mary tittered excitedly as Marley worked on her hair.

Kayla grinned, trying not to move her face as Mary smeared a pink rouge on her cheeks. "So when are you going?"

"Next hogsmeade weekend! Now stop fidgeting, or this lipstick will go up your nose!" Mary laughed at Kayla's expression as the girl went statue still.

Lily grinned dreamily. "Wow, Mary. Of all the boys at Hogwarts, you snagged a seventh year."

"And not just any seventh year!" Alice interjected. "Johnny Turner!"

"Johnny Turner." Lily murmured with a large smile. "Is he still as handsome as he was a few weeks ago?" the girls looked at her in mild confusion, faces alighting in realization when their gaze found her hazy, milky eyes.

"Very, very handsome." Kayla reassured.

Lily smiled, and the girls went back to their preening. The dorms were alight with the frenzy that always comes during holiday vacation. Dormitories were ripped apart, students searching for stray socks and spare bits of belongings. Goodbyes echoed around the school, even though the train wouldn't be off until after supper. Lily sat on her bed lounging around, listening to the general hustling of her roommates packing for the holidays and tried to stay out of the way.

"So," started Lily from her spot on the bed. "Most anticipated moment of the coming holidays. Go!"

"Seeing all of my family," said Marley. "I've got loads to teach them, and my sisters are going to love all the new beauty tricks."

"Oh Mah-leene," Alice began in her best impersonation of Marley's crotchety old grandmother. "Doo try to act civilized, won't you, dah-ling? I won't hah-ve you and your deliquent peers ruining my yule." The girls collapsed in fits of laughter, remembering the fiasco last year.

"Oh, and Mah-leene, do stop acting like such a," Alice paused, pretending to wrinkle her nose in disgust, "Barbarian. You are a lady, and you shall act like one."

Marley swatted her friend, gasping for breath as her eyes watered.

Cheeks still red with merriment, Alice grinned, throwing a pillow at her.

Kayla smiled. "Leave Marley alone! It's not her fault she got stuck with the old hag!"

Marley gasped. "Grandma's not a hag! She's just.." she paused, struggling for the right word. "Crotchety."

Kayla snorted amusedly, but didn't comment.

"I've packed your stuff for you, Lily." Alice said from the foot of Lily's bed. She closed the trunk with a resounding snap. "I wasn't sure if you wanted to leave anything here, so I just packed it all."

Lily's looked in her direction, paling a bit. "Uhh," she paused, then smiled warmly. "Thank you, Alice. You're wonderful."

Alice gave her a thoughtful look, then shook it off. Lily, oblivious due to her lack of sight, chattered on. "When all of you are finished packing, we should go down to the common room to say goodbye to the other years."

"Oh, I agree," said Kayla. "I want to see those marauders again before break." She batted her eyelashes while Marley rolled her eyes.

"Kayla," Marley began with a sigh. "Life is more than boys."

"Oh, I know," Kayla grinned. "They just make it a lot more happy." Alice looked at Mary, who rolled her eyes. Shrugging, she stood up, brushing off her skirt.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

Lily nodded, standing up an holding out her hand. "Who wants to lead the cripple? I'd go myself, but I already broke three toes last night just trying to get to the toilet." She gave a half-hearted laugh. "Lesson learned. No independence for the blind girl."

Marley glared at Kayla. "If SOMEBODY hadn't moved my skateboard to make room for her makeup, Lily wouldn't have gone for such a wild ride."

Kayla threw her hands up in protest. "Hey! It's not my fault! MARY's the one who just HAD to have her stuff back."

"What?" Mary exclaimed. "You know that's the only red lipstick I have, Kay! And it's CHRISTMAS break!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Guys! Stop it! I'm fine, see?" Lily said as she held tightly to Alice's arm. "No harm done." She gave a dazzling smile, her glazed eyes staring into an unseen horizon.

"It was only a little concussion." Alice added with a smirk.

"You're not a man until you've had a few good concussions." Marley interjected with a fake gruff voice.

Tension broken, the girls collapsed into giggles, grinning at one another as they made their way to the common room. Assisting Lily to an armchair, Marley and Mary plopped down on either side of her, Kayla throwing herself upon the blind girl's lap. Lily gave a strangled cry, pushing her friend to the floor with a loud thud.

"Hey!" the blonde shrieked indignantly. "You're going to bruise my bum!

"And what a lovely bum it is," A male voice replied. Kayla went bright red as Alice snickered.

'Black!" the flustered girl exclaimed as she jumped to her feet. "You bloody sod! Mind your own business!"

She glared at him, arms crossed. Mary and Marley watched from their positions on the floor, Lily cocked her head, listening to the building fight.

"Listen, Walters." He held his hands up in front of him in a gesture of peace. "As much as I'd love to argue with your fine self, I'm just here to see Lily."

"Lily?" Mary asked, confused. She looked between the boy and her friend.

"Red, walk with me?" He asked.

"Why, Black?" She tried to glare at him. No one told her she was a few feet off.

"'Cause I'm bored, and you know you can't resist my charm." He grinned haphazardly, winking at Kayla.

"Trust me, I can." She crossed her arms like a child.

"But I know you won't. Come on, Red. I'm not asking you to marry me. Or Prongs, for that matter. Just a little walk with me, yeah?" He grabbed her arm, gently pulling her to her feet.

"Bye Lil." Said Alice. Kayla wiggled her fingers in farewell.

Mary smacked the back of Kayla's head. "She can't see you, dimwit."

Lily chuckled at her friend's antics as Sirius helped her throught the portrait. He kept his hand on her arm as they made their way through the castle.

"So, Black.. What do you want?"

"Sirius, Red. My name's Sirius."

"I don't want to use your first name.

"Why not?"

"Because it might give you the idea that we're... friends." she said the last word with uncertainty, unable to conjure her usual levels of disgust.

"Well, we are. Lily." He grinned, putting emphasis on the last word.

"Oh really?' She flinched, putting her hand out in front of her to feel for obstacles

"Why do you keep doing that?" Sirius asked.

"Doing what?" Lily asked innocently.

"Cut the crap, Evans. What's wrong?" He stopped walking. Turning to face her, he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Are you in pain?" He carefully examined her eyes.

"No," she sighed. "I'm okay. I just... Since losing my sight.. I don't like open spaces." she wrung her hands, embarassed. "I feel like something's going to hit me, or that I'm going to fall over."

"Oh." said Sirius. He looked throughful for a moment, then he grinned. "Hop on."

"What?"

"Haven't you ever had a piggyback ride?"

"As a little kid! But not in age-BLACK!" She shrieked as she was lifted onto his back. "Are you mad?"

"Nah." He shrugged, smirking. "Just awesome."

She giggled, then rested her head gingerly on the back of his shoulder.

"Jeeze," Sirius commented. "Don't you eat? You're like a feather!"

"You're just as bad as Alice," She muttered. "The whole.. event.. last week took a toll on me. Madam Pomfrey doesn't know what they used, but, in essence, one of their curses drained the energy from my body. Thus the whole prisoner-esque physique"

His jaw set in anger. "Ah."

"Yeah." She chewed her lip nervously. "Thanks, by the way. For, you know. Saving me."

He gave a bitter laugh. "Don't worry about it. I'm sorry about what happened."

"Why are you apologizing?"

He sighed. A deep, heart-heavy sound. "Narcissa's my cousin."

Her face, still nestled in his shoulder, betrayed her horror. She gave a weak chuckle despite herself. "Christmas must be a real treat, then."

He half laughed at that, his chest rumbling. "I haven't been to a Pureblood Christmas party in 5 years. Spent the last 4 with the Potters. Good people."

She nodded, but said nothing. They lapsed into comfortable silence. Soon, they aproached the huge doors leading to outside.

"Why is it so cold?" asked Lily, twisting her head to and fro.

"We're about to go outside!" Sirius said, his glee evident.

"But it's snowing! We'll freeze."

"Are you a witch, or not?" He grinned smugly as he set her back on her own two feet.

"Oh yeah..." She grinned at him, then performed a few simple heating charms. "Shall we?"

"Oh yes." He grinned, pushing the door open and taking a few steps out.

"Black?" She called, not moved an inch.

"Yes, Red?" He called back with a grin.

She held out a hand. "Mind helping the cripple?" She paused, her smile flickering. "I.. I still can't navagate."

He ran back to her, face full of concern. "Of course! Sorry.. I forgot." He gave her a lopsided grin. "That's Moony's job." They stood awkwardly for a second. "So, Uh," He began. "How do I..?"

"Can I have your arm?"

"No."

"..What?"

"Oh. Uhh.. Yeah. Sure." he extended his arm cautiously, face curiously stoney. She grabbed it, wrapping her arm around his.

"Shall we?" she smiled up at him.

He led the way out the door and into the white outdoors. "It's snowing." He told her with a half smile.

She smiled, lifting her face to the sky as she tightened her grip around his arm. Her smile faded slightly as she carefully twisted her hand around his forearm. His face tightened in resignation, then went as blank as stone. "Go ahead." He said, his voice low and void of emotion. Hesitatingly, her fingers probed the roped scars that wrapped around his arm. After a moment, her hands stilled, and she looped her arm through his again. Looking up, Sirius realized they were half-way around the black lake.

"What happened?" she asked after a moment in a tiny voice.

"That," he gave a harsh, barking laugh. "Was my reward for being a Gryffindoor."

Her still-sickly face paled even more, making her glassy, broken eyes stand out. "Merlin. Who would do such a thing?"

"My father." his voice was still monotone, eyes stubbornly staring into the distance. "Chains wrapped around both of my arms. They'd been sitting in the fire, of course. A simple crucio just wasn't special enough for the occasion."

They reached the tree on the far side of the lake, pausing wordlessly to sit on the freshly charmed roots.

Lily shook her head, eyes filling with tears. "I'm sorry, Sirius."

"So it's 'Sirius' now, huh?"

She swatted his chest playfully, roughly brushing a few stray tears off her face. 'Yes, you goof."

"Careful now.. 'Else I might start thinking we're friends." He winked at her with a smirk. Realizing she couldn't see it, he ruffled her hair instead.

"Hey! She shrieked, trying to flatten her hair. "Shut up, you dolt." She grinned. "I guess we could be friends." She pretended to mull it over dramatically, placing her chin on her fist.

Sirius made a mock-hurt noise. 'After all I've done for you?"

She giggled, then gave him a hug. Realizing what she'd done, she let go hurriedly. Then she smiled. 'You know, Bla-.. Sirius," she corrected herself. "You're not so bad."

"Thanks. So what's your sad story?"

She tilted her head, confused. "My what?"

He laughed at her expression. "Your sad story. You know, all the messy stuff in your past. It's only fair."

"Oh is it now?" she teased.

"Oi, Red. You hurt me so." he grabbed his chest dramatically, jarring her off of her root and into the snow below.

"Oh bullocks... Are you alright?" he asked, reaching a hand down to help her.

"I'm okay.." she said uncertainly. "But you aren't!" she grinned evilly as she pulled him into the snow with her.

"Touché, Red.. Touché." He stood up, helping her back to the tree. "So, what's your sad story?"

she shrugged. "I don't have one."

"Bullocks." he said with a wave of his hand. "Spill."

She was silent for a long while, thoughts moving at a million miles an hour behind her dead eyes. Finally, she spoke. "I'm not going home for Christmas."

"Why not?" asked Sirius, his face slightly appalled.

"Don't have one to go back to."

"But.. I thought your parents were alright! Marley said they were good people." He stared at her with intensely curious eyes.

She gave a harsh little laugh, then smiled bitterly. "My mom died two years ago. Marley doesn't know." she sighed. "They were great people."

"Were you close? You and your mum?"

"Yeah." she swallowed, her fingers trembled on his knee. "But Petunia was always dad's favorite. Parents.. They don't do that, you know? They always say that they don't have favorites. But it was always dad and Petunia, mom and me."

"Is Petunia your sister?"

"Two years older." she brushed a tear off her face with a forced laugh. "But she disowned me when I got my letter."

"She what?" Sirius asked, shocked.

"Yeah." she laughed again, a hollow sound. "She's hated me since I was eleven. Mom and Dad were always supportive."

"What happened to her? Your mum?" Sirius asked, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"There was an attack.. We were at diagon ally.."

"Your mum was killed by wizards?"

"Death Eaters." Sirius shook his head at that, face grim. She nodded, feeling his response. "Yeah. After that, Tuney hated me even more. Wizards killed our mom. In her eyes... It was me who'd killed her.

"So, they hate you on both sides of the forest?"

She looked at him oddly. "What?"

"Your dad and sister hate you because you're too much of a witch. The wizarding world hates you because you're not enough of a witch."

She nodded once, lips clenched in a thin line. "But my dad didn't disown me."

Sirius looked at her, trying to gauge if she was telling the truth. "Oh?"

"I... I obliviated him and his new wife right before school started this year. Her kids and Tuney, too."

"How'd you manage that?" he gave a little grin. "You're still under-age."

"Took them to Diagon ally. The spell was fairly easy.. I just headed to the station from there.' She shrugged.

"Aren't you just a little rule breaker?" He grinned, pushing her shoulder a bit. Then he sobered up. "So what are you going to do for Christmas?"

"Just stay here." She shrugged. "Homework and stuff.. I've got two weeks of class to make up, remember?"

"Only you could make Christmas break awful, Red." He laughed at her.

"Well what would you have me do, Mister king-of-all-fun?"

"Come home with me!"

She turned to face him, looking bewildered. "Are you serious?"

"The one and only!" He grinned proudly as she rolled her eyes. "But honestly, Red. You should."

"Sorry, but I don't think your pure-blood family would appreciate a muggle-born crashing their Christmas."

Sirius looked puzzled, then laughed in realization. "Oh! No way, Red! Not them. The Potter's, remember?"

"Oh. Oh yeah." she said, relieved. "I don't think they'd appreciate their guest inviting another guest."

"Uhh..." He shifted uncomfortably. "I live with the Potters. Have since third year. Trust me.. They'd love to have you."

'I don't know..."

"Oh, come on, Red!" he wracked his brain for reasons she'd approve of. "How are you going to make your way around the castle? You said yourself that you can't go around without help."

"Sirius, I'm staying at Hogwarts." Her voice was firm, but she looked doubtful.

"Red.. admit it. You need help. I'm sure that being blind wasn't a part of your carefully thought-out plan of solitude."

"Fine. It wasn't." she admitted. "But I can do it myself."

"You just don't want to spend two weeks with the Marauders!" he accused.

"That's not entirely true! I already said that you weren't so bad!"

You know.. the others aren't bad either." He said in a serious tone.

"I don't think Potter has a decent bone in his body." She crossed her arms stubbornly.

"Red. Can't you at least just-" He started, but she cut him off.

'No. Sirius. Okay? No. He's awful!"

"He's my best friend, Lily! You have no idea about some of the things he's done for Moony, Wormy and me."

"What about what he did to Sev?"

Sirius' face hardened. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. He finally found his voice. "Fine, Red. Fine. I get that you're dead set on hating him. And I'd try to explain it, but I really don't care to waste any more of my time on you."

She sputtered, trying to defend herself. But he cut her off.

"Trust me, I've got it memorized. He's a vile, repulsive, arrogant bully." Sirius rolled his eyes, clenching his fists as he got to his feet. "And if that's the case, you're an awful, selfish, ignorant brat who can't get over herself long enough to see that you don't have a clue about anything that really matters."

He ran his hand through his hair, huffing in frustration. "I can't deal with you right now. Moony'll have to get you." And with that, he stormed off, leaving a dazed and blind Lily still standing by the tree.

* * *

"You did WHAT?" James Potter yelled angrily in the fifth year boy's dormitory. Present were the inseperable Mararuders, who, at the current time, were looking pretty divided.

"You heard me! I left her there! She was being stupid!" Sirius yelled back, idignant. "I stuck up for you!"

"Well you shouldn't have!" James ran a hand through his ever-messy hair. "She's blind, you idiot! How is she supposed to get back to the castle?"

"I told her that Moony would come get her! If she doesn't stay put, that's her own fault!"

"GUYS!" Remus shouted, looking up from his book. He stood up, lying it face down on his bed. "You both need to calm down."

Both of the raven haired boys glared at him., chalengingly. He stared back evenly, deep blue eyes piercing. "Now."

Sirius sat down on the floor, looking angry. James threw himself onto his bed, muttering.

"Wormtail," Remus said, looking at the sandy-haired boy. "Would you please go get Lily?"

Peter nodded, throwing a cautious look at James and Sirius. He grabbed the map. "Good luck.." He said, running out the door.

Remus watched him leave. He pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering to himself as he turned back to the childish boys on the floor. "Now, you two need to make up." they opened their mouths to protest, but Remus silenced them with a wave of his wand. Raising an eyebrow, he began to speak. "You're both arrogant prats! I don't care what happened. You're both at fault. You're also both partially right. James, Sirius had a point. Sirius, you could have handled it better. Now, Sirius, you invited her to christmas, Yeah?" He looked expectantly at the boy in question, who nodded. he opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Remus eyed him warily. "Are you going to say something pertanant?" Grey eyes wide, Sirius nodded his head dramatically. Rolling his eyes, Remus lifted the spell from him.

"She specifically said she didn't want to come. Seemed pretty.. sure of it." He winced. "She's definitely not going to want to come now." He looked at James. "Mate, I'm not saying that I said anything she didn't need to hear. But.. I could have been more tactful." He looked sheepishly at his best friend. 'Forgive me, maybe?"

James smiled at him. 'Of course." He ran his hand through his hair again. "You're still a bloody sod, though."

Sirius laughed. "Duely noted."

"We should probably make sure that Lily's things are packed." Remus mused.

The two boys looked at him, confused. "Why?" James asked.

"Trust me... Lily loves Christmas. She won't miss the opportunity to spend it with a family."

Sirius looked doubtful. "Are you sure, Mate?"

Remus smiled knowingly. "Trust me."

James grinned, looking at Sirius. "Then let's make it the best Christmas ever."

* * *

"Lily?" Peter asked, cautiously approaching the tree.

"Remus?" She angrily wiped tears from her face.

He chuckled, sitting down next to her. 'Nope. Peter. Remus is making sure that James and Sirius don't kill each other."

"I hope he fails." she snapped, burying her face in her hands.

"You don't mean that," He laughed.

"Oh, I do." She crossed her arms, still furious. "And you're quickly making a place for yourself on that same list."

He held up his hands. "Alright, alright! White flag of surrender. You win." He laughed, and she smiled at him. "Ready to go back to the castle?" he asked, grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet. She nodded, and then began walking. The majority of their walk was quiet, punctuated only by the occasional direction from Peter. As the walked through the castle halls, Peter appeared to be talking to himself. He looked carefully and the blind girl at his side, then nodded to himself.

"You know," he began, 'You really should come with us tonight. The Potters are awesome." She said nothing, and he took that as encouragment. "Honestly. You don't even need to stay with us. You could hang out with Mrs. Potter the whole time. Besides, what are you going to do all by yourself at hogwarts? What arout Christmas cookies, Lily? Who'll you bake cookies with? You have to come!"

Lily shook her head. 'I don't know, Peter. I'll think about it."

He nodded, then plopped himself down on the ground. "Not good enough. I'm not moving until you agree to come with us. And I will warn you, we're in Hufflepuff territory. We could be swarmed by bumblebee-human hybrids at any moment." He paused. "That might be because of me though." and with that, he began shouting at the top of his lungs. "OH HUFFLEPUFFS! HUFFLY-PUFFILIES! COME OUT, COME OUT, WHERE EVER YOU ARE!"

'Peter!' Lily hissed. "Peter!" he continued yelling. "OI! DIMWIT! FINE! I'll come with you and your stupid friends!"

Peter grinned triumphantly at this, then hopped to his feet. 'Come on, then. We've got to get you packed."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I was just played, wasn't I?"

"Like a grand piano." He smirked. "Now come on. We seriously need to get a move-on. Sirius gets cranky if he misses lunch." he grabbed the distressed Lily's hand, and they made their way up to Gryffindoor tower, where the other three marauders waited.


	7. Christmas Traditions

**Hey guys! I know, I know. I was presumed dead.  
I debated posting a notice, but decided against it. Life's gotten very chaotic these past few days.  
**

**Honestly, completely insane. I recently decided to switch from homeschooling to a specialty secondary school focused on the arts. It's a really, really amazing place. Unfortunately, they require all of my paperwork by June 15. Which is insane, because I just started the curriculum for my math. I've been a bit frazzled, needless to say. (Ever tried cramming 6 months of biology into 6 weeks?)**

**I should be back on track by June 29th, hopefully. Until then, only God knows what you'll get from me. Thank you, everyone who's stuck with me thus far. It means a lot. To those of you who have reviewed, I give cyber lemon bars (Because I've just eaten a lemon bar, and wish to share the yummy goodness with you.). If I haven't responded to your review yet, don't give up on me! I will. I promise. **

**On to the story. :)**

**Disclaimer: Yada yada yada, spew some nonsense about having no rights to the loves of my life, heartbreak, denial. Got it? Good.**

** (I created a ton of people this chapter! What can I say? Everyone loves a Hufflepuff! Needless to say, They're mine. Legit. Not just in my own fantasy world.  
**

* * *

Lily and Peter made it back to the dormitories rather quickly after Peter's impromptu performance. The exuberant boy, in a moment of unsurpassed clumsiness, ran around a corner and, unable to stop himself, slid into a suit of armor. Lily had taken a good ten minutes to calm down after that, and was still rather shaken up. Which is where we find ourselves now; in a room full of uncomfortable teens.

"Well, here we are." stated the blonde boy as he and his companion entered the boys' dormitory.

The glassy-eyed girl on his arm gave a tight nod. "Could I sit down?" she asked in a rather weak voice.

Peter nodded in a panic, fussing around trying to find a spot in the disorganized room. James put a hand on the frantic boy's arm, silently pointing to the bed he'd been sitting on.

"Over here, Lily." said Remus with a smile, as he steered her around the piles on the floor. "Bed at your two," he said quietly.

"Two?" Sirius asked, cocking his head as Lily sat down.

"It's a way of communicating position," Peter said. "For muggles."

Sirius and James looked at Peter incredulously. He gave a choked laugh. "My mom was a half blood, remember?"

"Oh. Right." said Sirius.

"So," James began eagerly. "How do you do it?"

Remus gave him a wary look, but responded. "It's like a clock. Twelve is directly in front. Six is behind. Three and nine are right and left, respectively."

James puzzled it over for a moment before grinning. "Sod at your 4, Moony."

"Hey! I'm not a sod!" Peter exclaimed indignantly.

Sirius and James snickered at each other, Remus rolled his eyes.

Realizing Lily was still shaking on his bed, James gave a questioning look to Peter, one eyebrow raised. Peter gave him a guilty look, then shrugged. Sirius gave him a piercing stare. Remus, realizing Peter wasn't going to crack, turned to the trembling girl.

"Hey Lily. Um.. Did anything happen on your walk back?"

She laughed, a choked sound. "No.. It's stupid, really." she smiled at nothing, then rested her chin back onto her knees.

"I ran into a suit of armor. The noise scared her." Peter blurted, unable to take anymore of Sirius' stare.

"Scared?" she scoffed, embarrassed. "Startled. You startled me."

Peter gave her an incredulous look. "We took the old passage down the hall from the Hufflepuff dorm entrance."

"That's a three minute walk, tops!" James exclaimed.

"Exactly." Peter said, giving him a look .

"Oh." James looked at her, trying to decide what to do. He turned to Remus, shrugging at him. Remus shrugged back. 'Christmas?' he mouthed to the other boys.

Peter perked up at this."Oh yeah! Lily said she'd come with us for Christmas!" he exclaimed happily.

"Excellent!" Remus said with a grin, aiming a satisfactory wink at Sirius and James.

"I'll owl mum and let her know." James said, smiling tentatively.

"Are.." Lily paused uncertainly. "Are you sure you don't mind? That your parents don't mind?"

"Of course they don't!" Both James an Sirius exclaimed at the same time. They grinned at each other as Sirius' stomach growled.

"Excellent, then." said Sirius, running his hands together. "Now, would we like to go to the kitchens or the hall for lunch?"

"I think Lily'd probably like to go to lunch with her friends, guys." Remus said as he stood and helped her to her feet. "If I recall correctly, they've got a few Christmas traditions to attend to." He grinned, knowingly.

The other three looked at him questioningly. Lily's face went bright red.

"What kinda traditions?" Peter asked with a mischievous grin.

"Girl ones." She said shortly. She grabbed Remus' arm. "Please, can we go now?"

Remus winked at the other marauders. "This way, Lily. Watch out for Pete's sock pile."

The other marauders watches them walk out of the room.

"Note to self. Get Red to spill." Sirius said to himself. James nodded at him. Then he turned to Peter.

"So Wormtail, what did you do to get her to agree?" His eyes sparkled mischievously behind his glasses.

"Well, I tried talking to her, like you said. But she didn't like that much. So I did what he told me to." He jerked his head at Sirius.

"Yes!" Sirius said happily.

"Yeah, yeah." James said, handing him the gold coins.

"You bet five galleons on it?" cried Peter, amazed.

"Of course!" Sirius exclaimed happily. "Why wouldn't we?"

Peter shook his head, not giving a response.

"So, she's really coming." James said in wonder.

Sirius clapped him on the shoulder. "She is."

"What am I gonna do?" James looked sick. "She hates me."

Sirius sighed, plopping himself next to his friend. "You'll be fine. She'll warm up to you."

"What happened to 'Evans is a right prat who deserves nothing better than being fed to the giant squid'?" Peter asked in amusement. Sirius waved a hand, scoffing at him.

"No.. Really, Paddy." James said. "What happened?"

"Stuff." Sirius said, his face going cloudy and unreadable. Then he gave his signature grin, bounding towards the door. "Lunch!" He leaped out the door before they could stop him.

James shook his head. "He's too good at keeping secrets, Pete."

Peter shrugged. "He'll tell us if he needs to. He's a smart guy."

"He's never been wrong about a person before." James grudgingly agreed. "We should probably go after him. Merlin knows he'll go after the Hufflepuffs again if we don't stop him."

Peter groaned. "You think he'd learn after being doused in vinegar the first time!"

"Must be a dog thing." James shrugged as he stood up. "Ready to go take care of a pickled fur ball?

Peter wrinkled his nose. "As ready as I'll ever be. Think the 'Puffs'll hex him this time?"

James looked thoughtful. "They did warn him. And if the state he's in is anything to go by... Yes. I'd say that he's going to be a sorry mess. He really doesn't know when to quit."

"It's been a while since he looked like that." Peter looked thoughtful. "Tonight will be fun, won't it?"

"Merlin," James sighed. "I hope he won't get wasted in front of Lily."

"Eh, don't worry about it, Prongs." Peter headed for the door. "We'd better get him before something really bad happens."

"Right. " James said, his mind a million miles away as he headed through the door.

V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^

"Alright. I now call this meeting to order!" Marley said with a grin as she slammed her gavel on the desk she'd commandeered as a podium. The many girls had assembled in an old abandoned classroom, as they did every year.

"Attendance!" Said the girl with gavel. "Please stand, state your name, house, year, and your duty here."

Kayla stood up, blue eyes sparkling. "Kayla Walters, Gryffindor, Fifth year." She flipped her hair over her shoulder, giggling. "I'm a Seer."

The other girls nodded solemnly in acknowledgement. Two strawberry blonde girls stood. Nearly identical, the only difference was the glasses that adorned the girl on the left. She adjusted her glasses nervously. "Dee Leonar."

The girl next to her gave the group a huge smile. "And I'm Emily Vespen." The girls smiled at each other. "We're from Hufflepuff,' said Emily.

"Fifth year," Dee added.

"And we're potion makers.' They said together, then reached into their bags, retrieving multiple colored vials and two flasks. "We're sorry to inturrupt," Emily began. "But we need you to take these now." Dee finished. "They won't take effect in time if we don't."

She handed Kayla a small bottle with a swirling, shimmering blue liquid inside. "Drink this now, If you please." Kayla nodded, unstoppering the bottle and lifting it to her mouth. She handed the empty bottle back to the bespectacled girl, shrugging at the others.

They took their seats, waiting expectantly. Alice stood, twisting the ends of her ebony hair. "Alice Prewitt, Gryffindor, Fifth year. I'm an Enchanter." She looked around at the others, unsure."Uh, Transfiguration," She added as an after thought. Emily nodded, silently handing her a curiously bubbly, pink potion. Alice drank it without protest, coughing slightly.

Mary stood slowly. "Mary McDonald, Fifth year Gryffindor. Enchanter, Charms." A murky purple potion was thrust into her hands. She lifted the vial in silent cheers, then knocked it back.

A petite witch with pink hair bounced to her feet. "Nika Kroywen, Hufflepuff, fifth year." Her brown eyes twinkled with mischief. "I'm the other Seer."

Dee walked over to her with the second swirly blue potion. "You're not a metamorphagis, are you? 'Cause you don't wanna know what this'll do to you if you are.." She eyed her, clutching the vial protectivly.

The bubblegum haired girl laughed. "Nope! This is just muggle hair-dye." She ran a hand through her pixie-cut. Dee reqluenished the bottle, then went back to her seat. Gulping dramaticaly, Nika raised it to the sky. "'Puff pride." She said solemly, then chugged the vial like a shot. Grinning, she sat back down.

"Engeli Passiflora." Stated a girl with brown hair and black eyes. "Hufflepuff. Fifth year. Enchanter, Transfig," She smiled shyly at Emily, then accepted the pink potion. She looked at it nervously, then eyed Alice, as if to make sure she wasn't sprouting extra limbs. Cautiously, she sipped at the potion, then swallowed the rest.

Marley grabbed Lily's arm, gently pulling her to her feet. "I'm Marlene, Gryffindor, Fifth year. Enchanter, Transfiguration. " She accepted the potion and drank it without ceremony. Coughing slightly, gestured at Lily. "And this is Lily Evans. Gryffindor, Fifith year, Enchanter- Charms, and resident cripple." Lily slapped Marley's arm. "Hey!"

She shrugged. "It's true." she grabbed Lily's potion from Emily. "Potion coming your way, do me a favor and don't destroy it, yeah?"

Lily went red, and drank the potion. "I haven't been any help at all though!"

Engeli patted Lily's arm. "Don't worry about it. You had enough to deal with." The other girls murmured approval.

Marley grinned, clapping. "Excellent. Now that that's over with, Let's get rolling!" she rubbed her hands together gleefully. "Should we do predictions or vows first?"

"If we could do vows," Nika began. "I would really appreciate it, because I'm not going to be much good after the reading."

'Fair enough." Marley said with a nod. "The hat, please." Alice handed her a fedora. "Borrowed it from Frank," She giggled.

"Names, please?" Marley asked, setting the hat on her podium and joining the curved circle of chairs that the other girls were already in. They each pulled out their wands, and nine slips of paper shot into the hat.

Nika walked to the front of the room. "Now, since Cassie is at Beabouxtons this year, we're no longer ten strong. Instead of the usual four victims, there will be only three this year." She paced around the hat, then, with a whip of her wand, the first name came rising into the air. "And our first victim is.." she paused, snatching the slip out of the air. "Emily Vespen." The girl in question gulped, then took the few steps to the podium.

Nika gave her an even look. "Do you, Emily Vespen, accept the responsibility, from now until January first, of whatever horrors these young women may bestow upon you?

Emily nodded gravely, fixing her glasses again. She turned to face the group. "Well..?"

The girls looked at each other, silently debating. "Where are you spending vacation?" Alice asked.

"My home, with my family." The girl looked worried.

The girls went back to their hushed discussion. After a moment, Kayla stood. "We've decided. Will Mary, Engeli, and Lily please come forward?" the three girls rose, encircling the girl. Waving their wands to activate the potion, a glowing light covered the girl, then ceased. Upon her hand, nestled between her thumb and pointer finger, was a small, raised tattoo of a griffin and a badger. "Emily Vespen, your dare is the chocolate touch. Example," Alice presented her vial, holding it in front of her. "Ring finger, left hand." The girl poked it with the selected finger, and the others were delighted to see the flask turn to solid chocolate.

"We've made some changes to the mark, on account of our dear Lily Evans." Mary said to the group. "it's now raised so she can feel it. And we've disabled the color changing, as it's hardly fair to her."

"Thanks, guys." said Lily sheepishly.

"Of course." Alice said simply. "I'll do the next one!" she sashayed to the table, sticking her hand into the hat. Lifting the paper to her face, she grinned. "Ooh! Now that's interesting! Dee Leonar!"

The girl made her way to the front, eyes screwed shut. "Oh boy."

Alice smiled. "Don't worry. It's not so bad."

"I'm staying with my family at my grandmother's lake-side cottage." Dee told the group nervously.

"You mean, the grandmother who lives next to that cute boy in my neighborhood?" Emily asked innocently.

"You're staying in the same neighborhood?" Marley asked Emily. Emily nodded, going pale.

The girls looked at each other, grinning. "Get up here, Emily." Alice said. The girl walked to the front.

"Dee Leonar, Emily Vespen. Do you accept the responsibility, from now until January first, of whatever horrors these young women may bestow upon you?" Alice asked.

'We do." Said the girls at the same time.

Alice shook her head. "Man. Are you SURE you're not twins?"

"Positive," Replied Dee, looking green.

The enchanters circled again, and both of the girls were bathed in light. When it faded, Dee had the same mark as Emily.

"Dee Leonar and Emily Vespen. You have been charged with the duty of skinny-dipping on at least two seperate occasions this holiday season. Emily, your chocolate touch will remain only until the first swim."

The group looked around, trying to hold in their laughter at the girls' faces.. 'Oh Merlin." Said Dee. Everyone lost it, and the room was surrendered to fits of giggling.

"I'll do the last one!" Engeli volunteered. She grabbed a name, her black eyes lighting up as she read it. "Oh man, guys. This is too great!"

"Who is it?" Alice asked, excited.

"Lily Evans!"

Lily's face went white. "Alice, I swear, if you even-" but she was too late.

"Lily's staying with the Marauders over break!" Alice exclaimed joyfully. Eyes lit up around the room, the opportunity of the moment was so great. Lily sat on the floor, full of dread and curiosity. But the moment was over nearly as quickly as it'd begun.

"Do you, Lily Evans, accept the responsibility, from now until January first, of whatever horrors these young women may bestow upon you?" Alice asked with a cheshire cat grin.

"I do." Lily said, hoping it wouldn't be too bad.

Once again, the chosen one was bathed in light, and the same tattoo appeared on her hand. She rubbed it thoughfully.

"You must kiss every Marauder." Dee giggled, attempting to act solemn.

Still sitting on the ground, the red-head's jaw dropped open. Then, her milky eyes rolled into her head, and she fainted.

"Lily? Lilllyyy.." Alice shook the still girl. "Oi! Lily!" she groaned, leaning back against the wall. "This is hopeless."

"Has this happened before?" Remus asked.

Alice shook her head. "Never." She looked around the empty classroom, then sighed. "I'm sorry Marley dragged you down here."

He chuckled. "Don't worry about it. Why did they all have to leave at once?"

"Something about an intruder in the hufflepuff dorm. Mary and Kayla went to help out."

"Huffepuff?" Remus said, his voice filled with realization.

"Yeah, why?" Alice looked puzzled.

Remus shook his head. "No reason, really." He shook Lily again, albeit rather gently. "I wonder.." he muttered to himself, pulling out his wand. "Enervate," he whispered.

The redhead began coughing, and she lifted a hand to her face, groaning. "Please tell me that that was only a very vivid dream about you all making me swear to ki-"

"Lily, Remus is here!" Alice exclaimed hurridly.

"Oh Merlin." The blind girl said exasperatedly. "Where's everyone else?"

"Some idiot tried to break into the Hufflepuff dorm." Alice explained.

"Remus, your idiot's loose." Lily said dryly, arm still over her face.

He grimaced. "I know. I was on my way to get him when they asked me to help you." He frowned thoughtfully. "You're still having fainting problems?"

She groaned. "Go save your idiot.."

He rolled his eyes. Turning to Alice, he smiled. "She's fine."

Alice laughed. "Yup , there's our Lily!"

She pointed towards the door. "Now shoo! Dee, Emily and Nika were talking about plan B2 when they ran out the door."

Remus's face took on a panicked expression. "Merlin. Not again. Catch you later, Lil. Alice. Let me know." He said this as he ran out the door.

Alice laughed. "Well that was amusing."

"Quite. So.. What happened?" Lily asked. "What did I miss?"

"Not a whole lot." Alice grimaced. "Well, two prophesies and the signs."

"Where are the signs?" Lily asked, concerned.

"Dee and Emily's are the two below the mark, since they have to do it twice. Yours... Well.." she trailed off, embarrassed. "Yours are the four on top."

"Four?" Lily sat up. "You marked each one? Next you're going to tell me that they're labeled, too!"

Alice didn't say anything as she chewed her bottom lip innocently.

"Alice. Tell me you didn't pre-label them."

"We didn't pre-label them?" Alice tried.

"Which one's which?" Lily asked tiredly.

"Umm.. Left to right; Peter, Sirius, Remus, and James. " Alice paused at her friend's face. "It was Marley's spell, if you're interested.. Brilliant wand work if you ask me." She trailed off, absentmindedly rubbing the dots on her own hand. "Don't be mad! At least you don't have to skinny-dip.."

Lily groaned again, a long and frustrated sound. "And the prophesies?"

"Oh. Yeah." Alice giggled. "We saw two proposals!"

"Two?" Lily exclaimed, blind eyes wide.

"Two." Alice confirmed. "One is 'preparation for a long time coming', and the other is 'a dark and laughable proposal'."

"Dark and laughable?" Lily shuddered. "Sounds awful. Who was it?"

"Um," Alice began delicately.

"Alice." Warned Lily.

"The potions have never been wrong before! And you were the one that glowed!" Alice defended, chewing her lip. "It's not like you have to say yes!"

"Okay, okay. The other one?" Lily asked tiredly.

"Um.. Well... Me."

A huge grin spread across Lily's face. "You and Frank?"

Alice blushed, a dark red color blossoming over her face. She managed a small 'mmhm' sound through her embarrassment.

Lily giggled, making to stand up. She grabbed Alice's arm for support. "I get to be your maid of honor, don't I?"

"Of course!" Alice giggled.

"Brilliant." Sighed the blind girl. "Now, wanna go grab some lunch? The boys showed me where the kitchens are." she grinned, tugging her friend's arm. "You'll have to help me out though... We can figure it out between us, right?"

"Of course!" Alice exclaimed. "See, the marauders aren't so bad, are they?"

Lily didn't respond as they made their way to the kitchens.

* * *

**Anyone part of Pottermore? :) Leave your name in a review, for we must duel! **

**...Gosh I'm tired.**


	8. Not A Chapter, Just Clearing Things Up

(Did last chapter confuse you? You're not alone! Continue reading for an in-depth look at my Christmas ritual! ...it's in here, somewhere.)

This is an, 'Oh shoot, that was supposed to be in the author's note' leftover mash up. And some expanding on previous themes. And a summary of the story so far.

:)

* * *

Author's Note Leftovers:

Big thanks to all who've reviewed. I've done my best to keep up with all of you, but if I never responded, feel free to send me a flame. ;)

Since I've had several anonymous reviewers, and two good questions, I'd like to answer you here.

OakPixie18777:Thank you!

Anon:Soon as I can, as always. :)

Rosie:Thank! You! So! Much! (I love your enthusiasm! XD)

Anonymous: thanks for sticking with me! Hope you're still enjoying.

Helena:I'm flattered! I solemnly swear that I shan't ever abandon this fic. In return I ask for patience on days in which I'm simply too stretched for time. :)

Jim926:continuing on! :) hopefully she'll see again before this ends. ;)

Anon: your wish is my command. :)

Anon: glad you're enjoying!

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To my dear friend Rileyswag, who asked how Tuney remembers Lily being a witch if she was obliviated- Lily visited her after school ended, (at the prodding of Padfoot, who hoped for the reuinion he' never get.) in an attempt to mend the relationship. It didn't work, obviously, much to Lily's distress. (and Sirius' heartbreak)

(I'd like to note that last chapter, this chapter, and all the chapters on are brought to you by strawberry flavored lip balm, strawberry scented nail polish, and my new quill, which is great for writer's block.)

I originally said that last chapter would finish up their last day at school, but things got out of hand, and we've got approximately two chapters before the day's finished and we're at James' house. Sorry about that!

This one, from Bri P, made me laugh. Because I kinda had the same reaction.

"Ok, excuse my french but what the HELL just happened? I am so confused!..."

None of that was in my story plan, but it all just showed up in the chapter, so I figured, 'Heck, why not?' I'm sorry that it didn't come out a clearly as I thought!

For those of you who are really confused, I'm going to do my best to summarize notable events in each chapter. Then I'll expand on the events of last chapter. This isn't a new chapter! I'm so sorry about that. This is just a bring-me-up-to speed kinda thing.

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Chapter One-

Lily loses her sight (Severus attempts to protect her, James and Sirius save her. Remus and Peter show up, and all are escorted to the hospital wing.

Chapter Two-

Lily wakes up and thinks that Sirius is tricking her. After several moments, she comes to the realization that she is, in fact, blind. The rest of the night is spent in terror and confusion as the Marauders attempt to calm her down, and only end up making it worse.

Chapter Three

The Marauders are found in the hospital wing by madam Pomfrey, and in the process of yelling at them, the healer wakes Lily. Lily, still blind, is then poked and prodded, and eventually her fate is deemed unknown. While the healer an the headmaster are out of the room, a tentative bond is made between lily and the marauders (with Remus acting as a conduit, of course) and Dumbledore, seeing that the Marauders had taken her under their wing, agrees to release her from the hospital wing.

Chapter Four

The marauders escort Lily to the common room, with flair.

Sirius makes an off-color joke about how the desirable marauders, (sexy beasts that they are) had just made Lily the target of every fangirl.

Chapter Five

Lily freaks out in the dorm. Tells Alice about Severus, Alice tells Lily about Sirius. Frank is put up to stuff by the marauders, and Lily falls down a flight of stairs. All is not lost, however, because the marauder swoop in to save the day. James escorts her to the kitchens, but she breaks his heart with her hatred.

Chapter Six

Everyone's getting ready for vacation, Mary's just been asked out by one of the cutest guys in school.

Sirius grabs Lily for a stroll, and they have a long chat ending in an outraged Sirius leaving the blind girl by the lake. He gets yelled at by James, and Remus mediates as Peter retrieves Lily. Peter forces Lily to promise to come with them for Christmas, and she is escorted back to the boys' dormitory,

Chapter Seven

Lily is taken back to her friends by Remus, as Sirius feels bad, but is still angry, and James is trying to please her by staying away from her. Sirius, when asked about his conversation with Lily, clams up. His self-destructive nature kicks in, and he dashes off to attempt another hufflepuff break in. Meanwhile, Lily and the girls from her dorm and hufflepuff year 5's dorm get together for Christmas traditions.

The chapter ends after Lily wakes up from fainting upon hearing what she'd sworn to do, and Remus runs out the door to save his friend from the Hufflepuffs.

* * *

Now, the ritual performed by the girls last chapter is something they've been doing since first year. They were in Double Transfiguration with Professor McGonagal, (Gryffindor and Hufflepuff together) when the professor began talking about Christmas in the wizarding world, as well as rituals and secret societies. The table of first year girls from both houses (The girls mentioned in the last chapter) were inspired, and decided to start their own. Over the last five years, they've perfected it. They now have potions that solidify the spell work, spells that create the marks, and seers- for added fun! It's like muggle truth or dare- only, you HAVE to do it, or a pre-decided, personally tailored punishment is issued to you by the other members.

Let's see..

The spells-

Are used for creating the marks on each girl, and for the swearing part of it. (think of a wizarding oath, with an expiration date)

The potions-

Act as a fail-safe in case the spell work goes wrong. Also connects the marks so that the dots will disappear as dares are completed.

The marks- are of a Badger and a Griffin, with two dots below and four above. Put there by spell work and activated by the potion, each dot will disappear as the challenge is complete. (The two on the bottom for when the two Hufflepuffs go skinny dipping- one each time, and the four on the top are for each marauder's kiss.)

It's a way of marking them as a society, and it adds to the awesomeness of being in a secret society.

* * *

I hope that clears things up, but feel free to PM me with any more questions! :)

If you actually read all that, I love you. You have my undying respect and adoration. And my sincerest apologies, since I have no idea when I'll see a computer again.

Cheers, loves! :)


	9. Sirius being Serious? No hexes? Crazy

**Well, here we are again! I'm so terribly sorry for the delay, even if it was fore warned.**

**I am so, unbelievably tired right now, guys. I blame the fact that I stayed up until the wee hours of morn today to read and re-read an amazing trilogy. The Newsflesh trilogy? Anyone? I'll love you forever, because they're my favorite books. Yes, my favorite.**

**I'd hoped that I could use the extra time for working up a couple buffer chapters, but apparently I can't write without the pressure of knowing I have to write. Ah well.  
**

**Updates:  
**

**-There's a poll up at my page, you should check it out! I'm asking your opinion of which marauder Lily should kiss first for her dare. So far, several of you guys have found it (without my help) and cast your vote! (I'm so proud! :) )**

**-I've begun betaing for the ever lovely PotterNerd94. I'll let you know when she starts posting the chapters, and when I do, ya'll should check it out. (story title to be announced)**

**Shout out to both xXTheOtakuFaeryXx and PrincessMoi for flattery and the messages pestering about my next update. This very well could have been another two weeks without them.  
**

**Notes from the writing process:  
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**(As I'm writing this on my iPod touch, I'm babysitting the sweetest child who offered me one of his mini lawn chairs. When I told him it was too small, he offered me the one he'd just sat down in. It was so chivalrous for a two year old, I graciously accepted. The moral of the story is that when you have a teeny miniature lawn chair stuck on your bum, writing seems a lot more convenient.)**

* * *

"Alice, I can't do this."

"Lily, you have to!" responded the girl with a slight laugh. "There's a T-branch up the hall. Left or Right?"

"Think about this! My best guy friend, and my mortal enemies? You know I'll only be another score for them." she paused, head tilted. Her foggy eyes darted around, as if moving faster would grant them vision. "Go right."

Alice turned right, and Lily, clinging to Alice's elbow, followed.

"Okay." Alice shrugged. "You don't have to do it. But you know what will happen if you don't.." she trailed off as Lily's face went red.

"Oh." she groaned in frustration. "Whose stupid idea was that, anyways?"

Alice grimaced. "Marley's, I believe. She's bloody awful with exploiting weaknesses." She paused again, her feet stilling. "Straight, left, or right?"

"Tosser." Lily muttered under her breath. She was jolted as Alice's arm stopped moving without warning. She shook her head, backing up.

"Lily!" Alice exclaimed in shock. "Language!"

"She deserves it! Go left. How in the name of Merlin's saggy left-"

"Lily!" Alice interrupted loudly.

"Fine. But you can understand why I'm upset, can't you?" She exclaimed, louder than necessary.

"Proclaiming your love for him to the school can't be that bad, Lily!"

"But I'm NOT BLOODY IN LOVE WITH HIM!"

Alice shrugged. "Matter of opinion. I can't help it that you're blind."

Lily stopped walking.

"Oh, shoot!" Alice exclaimed. "I'm sorry.. I, I forgot." she said miserably.

Lily shrugged, frowning. "That's okay. I'm glad someone can forget about it." she sighed bitterly. "I'd kill for some independence, though."

"I know." Alice said sympathetically. "Think about what I said, okay? You know you won't mind snogging him."

Lily tried to roll her foggy eyes, but gave up. "You can't be serious!"

"Nope!" exclaimed a joyful male voice from the end of the hall. "I am!"

"He is," James offered in agreement.

The marauders grinned as they approached the two girls. James and Remus had one of Sirius' arms slung over each of their shoulders. Sirius himself was dripping, wet hair hanging in his face. Peter trailed behind them, plugging his nose.

"Dear Merlin." Lily said distastefully. "What is that awful smell?"

"Vinegar." Remus said dryly. "An awful lot of it, at that."

"Fantastic." Alice giggled. Lily just glared into space.

"Rem. Peter. Rem's idiots." Lily greeted stiffly. "Obviously the rescue went alright."

"Oi! I didn't need rescuing! I NEVER need rescuing! Say it's not so, Moony!" Sirius pleaded dramatically, flinging wet hair everywhere.

"If you'd stop doing this, you wouldn't need help." Remus reminded.

"I'm only trying to say hello to the Hufflepuffs!" Sirius exclaimed "They need my fantastic presence more often in their lives." He winked at Alice, who giggled again.

"Don't you have a boyfriend?" Lily observed, listening to the flirting and looking blankly and irritatedly into space.

Alice blushed, but Sirius cut off her retort. "Jealous, Red?" he leaped over to her, throwing an arm around her shoulders. She jumped at the sudden contact, biting back a yelp.

"In your dreams, Black." She exclaimed, though her voice shook. Sirius dropped his arm, grin gone. "Right, then." he said, voice somber. He turned to Alice. "Uh, Frank was looking for you. Said he had a surprise for you. I reckon it's a picnic, considering he had us filch some some food for him."

"Really?" her eyes lit up, full of excitement. She looked at Lily, then back at the group, torn. Remus gave her a smile, then made a shooing motion with his hands.  
"You don't mind, do you, Lily?" she asked the blind girl.

Lily bit her lip.

"Let her have this one, Red. Please." Sirius' voice was low next to her head.

She smiled at Alice, hoping it didn't look forced. "Go ahead. Have fun!"

Alice looked unsure, but Remus walked over to Lily. "She'll be fine." He assured, whispering "Just me," in her ear as he put an arm around her shoulders.

Alice smiled gratefully, "Thank you! Have fun, Lily!"

Lily smiled and waved, listening as her friend's footsteps faded. As soon as they were gone, she dropped her smile.

"Sorry for scaring you." Sirius said.

"You didn't." her voice was monotone. "So, what are we doing for the next..." she sighed. "Anyone know how long until the train leaves?

"Two hours." Peter said, looking up from his pocket watch.

"Two hours." Lily repeated numbly. "Brilliant. Don't let me spoil your fun."

"Uh, right, then." James said awkwardly. He looked at Remus for help. Remus shrugged. "Back to the dorm, then?"

"Sounds fantastic." Sirius interjected. "I need a shower."

Remus wrinkled his nose. "Trust me. We know."

"Well, come on!" Sirius said as he walked down the hall. "We'll take the creepy stairs by the green knight, yeah?"

"How much of an aversion do you have to narrow spaces?" Remus quietly asked the girl on his arm.

She looked uncertain. "Depends."

"On?"

"Who I'm with."

"Ah," he looked at the marauders, weighing his words carefully. "Do you trust us?"

"No."

"Lil, I'm hurt!" he teased.

She couldn't help a small grin. "Alright. So, maybe you're okay."

"I should certainly hope so!"

She poked him in the ribs. "Hush, you big meanie."

"Alright, alright." He said. "But.. You gotta pick another one of us. It's a single-file kind of passage. I figure you need two guides."

She groaned. "Really?"

"Lily." he said sternly.

She furrowed her brow. "You're trying to make me interact with them, aren't you?"

"Me? Never." he said innocently. "Now pick." his tone was kind, but left no room for argument.

She muttered something under her breath.

"What was that?"

"I said 'Sirius', okay?" she snapped.

"Excellent, because we're here." he grinned, slowly coming to a halt. Him and James nodded to each other.

"Wormtail, you open the passage and take lead, alright? Sirius will follow you, with Lily and Remus behind him, in that order. I'll go last, okay?"

"Are you sure?" Peter asked, giving a meaningful look over at Lily.

"Positive." James pointed at her empty eyes. "Go on."

Peter morphed into his animagus, then scurried out of sight, behind the statue's feet. Something clicked, and the knight with the emerald-encrusted sword swung forward.

Lily looked like she wanted to ask how he'd done it, her blind eyes wide. But she continued stubbornly pouting.

"Red," said Sirius. "Follow me, yeah?"

She reached out grudgingly, taking his arm in her right hand, keeping her left on Remus' arm. Sirius led her into the passage, and they began the trek into the heart of the castle.

After a few meters, Peter squeaked, signaling a turn.  
Lily stopped dead. "Are there rats in here?" she bit her lip nervously.

Sirius chuckled, attempting to control himself. "I'm sure there's one or two." He kept walking, giving the girl no choice but to follow.

Remus let out a half laugh. "Don't worry. They're more afraid of you than you are of them."

A particularly indignant squeak sounded from in front of them.

"I'm not afraid of them!" Lily insisted. "I just.. Prefer to know where they are at all times."

"That sounds rather stalker-ish." observed James.

"They bite!" Lily defended. "And why would you trust a rat out of your sight, anyways? It's an animal. Probably just wants to snack on your flesh..." she shuddered.

"Prongs." Remus rebuked. "Leave her alone."

"Idiotic nickname.." Lily muttered, still embarrassed. "Sirius, you smell like wet dog and pickled radishes." She tightened her grip on his arm as she lost her footing in the stairs. He slipped an arm around her waist, catching her before she started a avalanche of people.

"Now you do, too." He gave her a grin, knowing she couldn't see it.

"Gee, thanks." she said, her voice lighter.

"Anytime." he acknowledged. There was a series of squeaks from ahead. "Almost to the portrait. Since you already smell like crap, I suppose you don't mind my carrying you?"

"What?" she asked, confused. "I don't thin- dear Merlin!" this last bit was shrieked as Sirius swept her into his arms, and they began flying upwards.

"BLOODY HELL, SIRIUS!" She screamed, wrapping her arms around his neck. They flew for for a few more seconds before stopping suddenly. Sirius stepped out of the air tube onto the stone flooring. He paused to look down in amusement at the girl clinging to his still-soaked chest.

"All right there, Evans?" Peter asked in amusement as he stepped from the shadows.

Remus stepped out of the chamber, followed closely by James.

"_What_ was that?" Lily hissed, shaking.

"Brilliant, yeah?" Sirius asked, excitedly.

"No!" Lily exclaimed in as strong a voice a she could muster. She continued trembling violently, eyes screwed shut, face pinched.

"Padfoot.." Remus began in a low voice. "I think we might be having a panic attack. And, keeping in mind that her other senses are heightened to make up for her vision loss, I'm sure your new vinegar cologne isn't helping." he took a few careful steps forward, reaching out to grab the poor girl. She flinched violently when he touched her, and he reeled back as if stung. Sirius gave him a panicked look, Remus looked unsettled.

James quietly moved over to them. "Sirius, nice and easy, yeah?" he held out his arms. Sirius cautiously maneuvered the terrified girl into his best friend's grasp, wincing as he caught a glimpse of her pallid face. The bags under her eyes made him wonder if she'd slept in a while. She was silent, though she continued shaking furiously. Releasing her death grip on Sirius and transferring it to James, she curled into a protective ball. The poor girl looked like death.

"Lily," James began in a low, assuring tone. "You're okay. You're at Hogwarts. Sirius, Peter, and Remus are here, too. We're leaving for Christmas holidays very, very soon, an you've agreed to come home with us. You're safe. No one can hurt you. Not now, or ever again." He began repeating this over and over. After a few minutes, her trembling finally calmed. She retained her death grip on his shirt.

"Get me out of here." she pleaded in a whisper.

James looked up at his friends, a grin lighting up his face. "You heard the lady."

They followed the passage to the end, exiting through a large, ornate drapery on the wall of the corridor of Gryffindor tower.

"Remus, do you still have the cloak?" James asked as they neared the portrait.

"Yeah. Want some help?" he asked, pulling the cloak from a magicked pocket in his school robes.

"Please." James said, ducking under the offered fabric. "I don't think she'd appreciate anyone seeing her like this."

"True 'nuff." Sirius agreed. "Dibs on the diversion!"

"Do we really need a diversion?" Remus groaned.

"Yes! They're gonna wanna know why we're only three quarters of the Marauders, won't they?" Sirius not-so-patiently explained.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Fine."

Peter grinned. "Me or you?"

Sirius tapped his foot impatiently as Remus groaned. "I really don't think this is necessary," the brown haired boy began.

"Nuh, uh, uh!" Peter said dramatically. "You OWE me one, remember?"

"You can't be serious!"

"Nope, I am!" The still-damp raven haired boy exclaimed. "Now can we please go? Less plan, more action."  
And with that, he bounded to the portrait. "Mistletoe," he half snarled at the fat lady, beginning their charade. James hurried in after him, still under the cloak with Lily.

"Padfoot, I swear to Merlin you'd better get back here!" Remus bellowed after he was sure James had gotten through. "This is all your fault!"

"All my fault?" Sirius exclaimed, turning on Remus and Peter as they entered the common room.

"Yes! Your fault that Prongs is in the hospital wing!" Remus got right in Sirius' face as he yelled this, standing toe to toe. At a half inch taller, Remus had no problems staring him down.

"Guys! Come on.." Peter began timidly. "It's not anyone's fault."

Remus turned to glare at him. "Not anyone's fault? He," Remus jerked his head back at Sirius, "Thought it would be funny to put POISON in James' lunch! How isn't it his fault!"

"It was for the Slytherins, I swear!" Sirius shouted. "It's not my fault he decided to taste it!"

"You didn't bloody tell him it was poisoned!"

"I was going to!" Sirius exclaimed, his long, curly black hair (which was now full of dried vinegar) covering the wink he gave to both boys. "But HE told me not to!" He pointed accusingly at Peter, who gaped.

Looking around, Sirius saw every eye in the common room was on them. Satisfied that James had had plenty of time, he ran to the stairs.

"I don't have to put up with this!". He darted up to their dorm.

"This isn't over!" Remus shouted, chasing after him.

Peter looked around, flustered. "N-nothing to see here, guys." He hurried away from the curious stares.

"That was brilliant!" Sirius exclaimed, high-fiving Remus.

"Completely unrealistic, though." Remus commented dryly as they walked down the hall to their dorm.

"I though that raising your voice was a nice touch, Moony." Peter complimented with a smirk.

"Everyone knows that I DON'T raise my voice, Wormtail."

"Which is why everyone is now certain that Prongs is fatally wounded!" Sirius exclaimed with glee as they entered their room.

"Great. More rumors." James said from behind their door. "Can I set her on your bed, Pads?"

"Uh.. Sure, Mate. But why my bed?" Sirius responded, following him across the room.

"It's against the wall." James responded, setting Lily down gently on Sirius' bed.

"So's Moony's" Peter pointed out.

"But Moony's in covered in books." Sirius explained, realizing what James was doing.

"Oh." Peter said, as he caught on.

Lily wrapped her arms around her knees on the bed, positioning herself in the corner of the bed created by the wall and the headboard. James wrapped the throw at the end of the bed around her, then moved to his bed.

"My neighbor has panic attacks." he explained with a shrug.

Sirius nodded, eying the foot of his bed. He decided against it and plopped himself on the floor.

Peter and Remus sat down on their beds, across from James and Lily, respectively.

"Well, I gotta go shower." Sirius said awkwardly after a moment of playing with his vinegar crusted hair.

The others nodded, then watched him retreat into the bathroom. "Lily?" Remus asked quietly. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, face still pale.

"Sorry for scaring you." Peter interjected.

Lily shrugged, shaking her head.

"Wait, let me guess. We didn't scare you?" James asked with a grin.

She nodded, once.

"Cool." He replied, looking mildly crestfallen at her lack of enthusiasm.

"Why is this bed against the wall?" Lily asked in a thin voice. "They aren't like this in my room."

"Both the beds over there, are." James said, at the same time Peter said "Nightmares."

James glared at Peter as Remus went pale.

"Oh." the girl said, fingering the pillow she'd wrapped around herself like a barrier. "That's smart." she smiled faintly.

"It is?" James asked, dumbstruck.

"Yeah." she nodded. "The walls are a huge help."

"They are." Remus agreed quietly.

She smiled a little more. "Where's Sirius?"

"In the shower, thank Merlin." Remus responded.

She nodded again. "How much longer till the train leaves?"

"An hour and a half." Peter filled in.

"I need to get my trunk." Lily said.

"We can get it!" James volunteered. "Right, Pete?"

"Right." Peter affirmed with a grin.

"For some reason, I don't trust you in my room." Lily stated hurriedly as James ran out of the dorm.

"No worries!" Peter said as he followed James out of the room. "We won't touch anything else! Meet you in the common room!"

"Not comforting." she muttered as Remus chuckled.

"I have returned!" Sirius declared as he waltzed into the room. "Hey, where'd prongs and wormy go?"

"To get Lily's trunk. Put some clothes on, for Merlin's sake." Remus said, exasperated.

"Oh, come on!" Sirius exclaimed with a grin."I've got nothing to hide!"

"Explains all the rumors," Lily muttered.

"Hey. Whatd'd you just say, Red?" Sirius said, pulling on a pair of muggle jeans.

"I said," she began, still clutching the pillow. "That I get all the rumors now!"

"What rumors?" he asked, sitting on the foot of James' bed. His black hair hung in limp waves, dripping water down his chest.

A shrill scream was heard from the opposite side of the tower, followed by yelling and a loud crash.

"God damn." Sirius bit out. glaring at Lily, then the door. He looked At Remus, who shrugged, "I'm going go save them from Marley. Sirius, behave." Remus strode out of the room quickly, muttering under his breath.

The bare-chested marauder ran a hand through his still-soaked hair, then turned to the red-head on his bed. "What rumors, Red?" Sirius asked.

"The ones about you and all those girls!" she said in disgust. "Everyone knows you've been around."

"Been.. a_round_?" he asked incredulously. "You can't be for real!"

"Oh, we both know that I am!" she snapped at him. "Aggie White? Heather Grundie?" he scoffed, and her blind eyes narrowed "What about the girl who told you off after you hurt yourself while interrupting my murder?"

Sirius winced at her bluntness, but continued on his already-begun rant. "Her? Soggy old hag doesn't know squat about me. And I haven't," he drew quotation marks in the air. "'Been around'."

She snorted in disbelief. "Sure. All those girls were lying, then, when they came back, bragging about their latest _experience_ with the great Sirius Black."

"Yes, they were!" He shouted. "Not that it's any of your business!"

"Then why do you care what I think?" she asked accusingly.

"Because I think maybe that's why you hate us so much!"

"So what if it is?"

"IT'S NOT TRUE! That's sodding why!" He shouted, standing up. Taking a deep breath, he walked to the bed she was sitting on. "They were all lying." he said in a quiet voice. He sat on the foot of the bed, putting his head in his hands. "Trust me on that one."

"Why should I?" she asked, taken aback by the wounded tone in his voice.

"Come here." he said gruffly.

She didn't move. "Oi. I'm not gonna hurt you, Red. I just have to show you something." he explained, annoyed. "I'll not be the reason you keep breaking Prongs' heart.

"Ever the dramatic one, aren't we, Black?" she commented dryly as she carefully made her way to the end of the bed. "Okay?" she said sarcastically, sitting back on her ankles. "Here I am, oh great one."

He rolled his eyes, appreciating the fact that she couldn't see him (and thus couldn't hex him.) "Let me show you something?"

She paused, then cautiously nodded her head. He reached for her hands, pausing when she jumped as he brushed her fingers. "Jumpy." He commented dryly.

"You didn't scare me." she said quickly.

"Of course." he acknowledged. He changed tactics. "Now, Red, I want you to understand something."

She cocked her head. "Okay..?"

"I don't sleep around. I never have, and I never will. Not only do I think that one night stands are repulsive, I have a reputation to withhold, as untouchable. See, that's the thing about being a Black." he spit the word with disdain, his voice growing bitter. "Blood purists, Slytherins, the 'best of the best'. They don't even _look_ at anyone 'less' than pure-blooded. You have no idea, _NO idea_, how _vicious _they are. And then there was me. I refused to torture, I refused the blood purity mania, I refused sodding Voldemort! And then, _oh_ and then, my poor, poor parents had to deal with their first born being a Gryffindor."

He gave an awful choking, bark-like noise.

"They decided that they could _beat_ it out of me. When that didn't work, they figured that they'd break it out of me. They even tried legilimency and the imperius." He paused, taking a deep breath. "Obviously, it didn't work. One night, last year, my mother and father decided that they'd figured out a solution. They would torture me until one of two things happened. I became 'a respectable person', or I died."

Lily let out a small breath at this, appalled.

He gave her a bitter grin. "Obviously didn't work. But.." he paused, grimacing. "I won't be forgetting any of it, due to some lovely scarring. And really, I don't want the whole school knowing what they did." She lay her head on his shoulder, ignoring the fact that it was still wet from his shower.

"I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"For calling you Black all the time."

He barked a laugh, waving her apology away. "Doesn't matter."

after a moment, she raised her head. "Can I see?"

"See?" he responded, puzzled.

"Well, you know." She waved her hand around. "Feel. See. Same thing, now." she looked embarrassed. "Not in a creepy.. I mean, like.." she paused her flustered stuttering. "Merlin." she muttered. "You know what I mean."

"Just can't keep your hands off me, can you, Red?" He said with his signature smirk.

"Shut up," she grinned back, eyes blank.

"Whatever you say."

"Can I?" she tilted her head, expectantly.

"Really?"

"Yes, Really."

"Why?" he asked impishly.

"Because.. I don't know. Just 'cause."

"Gotta have a better reason than that, love." he grinned, tapping her nose

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Come on!"

"Nope!"

"Please?"

"Admit you care."

She paused, puzzled. "What?"

"Admit that you, Lily Evans, give a yank about me." He said, roguishly delighted.

"Seriously?" she asked in disbelief.

"Well duh." He said teasingly.

"Fine. I'm curious, okay?"

"Not what I said, Red. Care, not curious." He stood up, striding over to his trunk for a clean shirt.

"Alright!" Lily exclaimed, face red. She continued in a softer voice. "So maybe I care a little."

He grinned triumphantly. "Excellent!" Sirius walked over to the bed she was sitting on. "You realized Remus planned this, right?"

Her blind eyes grew wide. "Oh." She looked suspicious. "How are you so sure?"

"Marauder, love" Sirius said with a grin. "We're in each other's heads."

Lily shook her head. "Terrifying."

"You have no idea." He smirked, running a hand through his drying hair. He glanced up at the clock. "Bugger!"

"What's wrong?" Lily asked in alarm.

"Train leaves in forty-five minutes." Sirius said, pulling a white undershirt on over his head. He made a mad dash around the room, flicking his wand as he snatched his customary black button-down off the top of the window drapes. Stray belongings flew to his open trunk before it snapped shut of it's accord and magically shrank. "Sorry, Red. I guess you'll have to feel me up some other time." he teased, offering her his arm after he slipped his mini-trunk into his pocket.

"Shut up, you prat." Lily teased back, embarrassed. "Like I actually want to be anywhere near you." She smiled, amazed at the difference a simple change in tone made to those exact words. The difference a simple change in perspective made.

Sirius led her through the halls, guiding her down the first stair. "Oh, Red?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't say anything to anyone, okay? Don't bring it up with the guys, either."

Lily looked puzzled, but nodded. "Okay.. But.. I thought they planned it?"

"Just don't." His voice was firm, with an edge she'd never heard before.

"Okay." she held up he free hand. "Alright. Promise." she shook her head. "You know, if someone had told me two weeks ago that I'd be spending Christmas break with you and the other three, I would have laughed in their face. If they'd told me I'd be making promises to you, I would have hexed them silly. Yet here we are." She shrugged, giving him a half laugh. "It's just a bit loony."

"Nah.. I knew you'd come around." Sirius gloated, puffing in dramatic self-importance. "No one can resist my charm!"

"Did you have to get him started on that again, Evans?" Peter asked reproachfully as they walked through the common room.

"Woah! James!" Sirius exclaimed with pride. "What happened to you?"

"Forgot to check the ma-" he trailed off, realizing Lily was there, and that she'd kill them if she knew about the marauder's map. "Kayla and Mary were still in. They lobbed one of those fancy little muggle shoes at me!" he pointed at the black eye he was sporting.

"Are you okay?" Lily asked with a frown from just behind Sirius. The whole group stopped dead and stared at the blind girl, who stared blankly into the corner of the room, attempting to figure out what was going on. Finally, a grin spread across Remus' face. He elbowed James' shoulder.

"Oh, Uhh.." James began, rubbing the back of his neck and looking shocked. "I'm- I'm fine. Walters has a mean throw, though. She should be a chaser, honestly." He gave a wide-eyed look to Sirius, mouthing 'what did you do?'. Sirius shrugged noncommittally.

"Kayla?" Lily asked, taking a step forward. "I tried to stop you." She tilted her head, listening for a moment. "Umm," she began, looking uncomfortable. "Do you want me to heal it? I'd assume it's either a broken nose or a black eye, since she only aims for the head." she rolled her blind eyes, placing a hand on her hips.

"Um, yeah. Black eye. Um, sure?" James asked, taking a few cautious steps towards her. She reached out her right hand, left arm still wrapped around Sirius'. Her probing hand found his shoulder, then carefully and delicately made it's way to his face. She prodded lightly, examining the damage. The marauders were silent as she pulled out her wand, muttering a few spells they hadn't heard of before. James winced, looking terrified with Lily's wand so close to his nose. But the hex never came, and the bruised tissues around his eye dissolved into healthy, uninjured stuff. "Thanks," he said thoughtfully, touching the now-healed skin.

Lily shrugged. "I should have warned you." James looked at his friends, bewildered. Sirius and Remus shrugged at him. Peter looked just as shocked as the bespectacled boy himself.

"Um," Lily interrupted their silent conference awkwardly. "I know you guys are having another silent conversation, and I hate to interrupt, but, doesn't the train leave soon?"

"Oh, right!" James said, still looking shocked at her lack of fury. "Um, right then. Everyone set? Let's, uh, go. Right then, Sirius.  
Peter, got her trunk okay?"

"I can carry my own trunk." Lily said reproachfully.

"Nonsense." Peter said, brushing off James' cautious look. "I've got it."

Lily rolled her eyes and grumbled, but didn't argue again. "One last request?"

"Yeah?" Remus asked as he held open the portrait for her.

"No more secret passages?"

The marauders laughed at this, assuring her that they'd take the normal route for once.


	10. Chapter 9

**Hello all! I really have no words to express how sorry I am for how long this has taken. Life has just been one thing after another after another. The last time I updated was the end of July. In August, I started school for the first time after being homeschooled all my life. It's been a great experience. I can proudly say that I go to an art school with a highly accelerated academic and elective curriculum. Instead of writing, I've been working on keeping up my straight A's. On top of trying to balance school, quiz bowl, family time, and spending time with my friends and my boyfriend, I got pneumonia in January. I missed two weeks of school (I should have missed more, but I couldn't bear to. There was a lot of accidentally falling asleep in classes.) and trying to catch up in all my classes has been awful. Then I got the flu (because my immune system is shot from the pneumonia thing) and missed another two days. (more catch up work, and more tiredness.) So now I'm back! I've lost some weight from being so sick, but I'm back. I also bought a laptop in August, so no more having to share with family!  
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**Thank you so, so much to everyone who has stuck with me through all this. I'm so thankful for each and every one of you who've followed this story. And if you've reviewed, an extra special thanks to you. You're the reason I haven't given up on this story!**

**This one's for you. :)**

_**As usual, I own nothing. Not even Sirius Black, my (fictional character) boyfriend. (Shh. don't tell my real boyfriend. I just don't have the heart to call Sirius my ex.)**_

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"Oi! Is that a tattoo?" Sirius asked, shocked.

"Oh," Lily said, white eyes darting around as she and the marauders stood in the great hall, waiting for the Hogwarts Express. "Um, yeah."

"When did you get a tattoo?" Peter asked, impressed.

"Earlier. It's not.. It won't be there forever." She replied, blushing.

"How come?" Sirius asked. He was twisting around, craning his head to and fro as he watched the commotion in the room. He stopped as he spotted Professor McGonagall making her way towards them. "Oh wait. Here comes Minnie!" He said, winking at the boys as he steered the girl on his arm to face the older witch.

"Mister Black, Mister Potter, Mister Lupin, Mister Pettigrew." She greeted with a nod, looking down her nose at James, who winked upon hearing his name. "Miss Evans?" she asked, an incredulous note sneaking into her stern tone as she spotted the girl among unusual company. "Are you alright?"

"I'm okay, professor." she said quietly, smiling slightly.

"Are you quite sure?" McGonagall asked motherly. "These young men aren't bothering you?"

The redhead laughed at that, and with her snow white eyes hidden from sight, she looked almost normal. "I'm sure. I'm actually spending the holidays with them."

"Are you, now?" The teacher asked.

"Yup! We figured we'd help her out, seeings as she can't see and all." Sirius interrupted with a charming grin. He elbowed Remus. "_See_ what I did there, mate? _Seeings_ as she can't _see_?"

The professor gave an affronted huff, but her rebuke was cut off by Lily's laughter. "Nice one, Sirius!"

The teacher looked at the boys' grinning faces, then at the blind girl's. She opened her mouth to speak, then shook her head. Smiling ever so slightly, she addressed the redhead again. "Well, Miss Evans. I sincerely hope your eyesight returns."

"Thank you, professor." Lily said gratefully. "Happy Christmas."

"And to you as well." the teacher said with a small smile. "Gentlemen." she nodded, then turned on her heel to wade through the sea of students.

"Blimey." Peter breathed. "She's never let us of Scott-free before!"

Sirius stopped his incessant peering around the crowd to smile charmingly at his group. "We're growing on her, lads."

Lily snorted. "Not likely."

He gaped hysterically at her. "Why must you hurt me?"

"It's simple fact. You're parasitic. Can't get rid of you, can't get used to you." She smirked.

"That's it!" Sirius exclaimed comically, brushing her hand off his arm. 'I refuse to be the sighted guide for someone who clearly doesn't appreciate me."

"You've got to be kidding me." Lily said, crossing her arms.

At the other end of the hall, the doors to the carriages opened, and students began streaming through them. "Here we go then." James said excitedly. His smile fell as Lily's face turned panicked. "It's alright, I've got you." He said, grabbing her hand and placing it on his arm.

"Thanks." She said quietly. Sirius winked at Remus, then bounded ahead. "I'll save our compartment!"

"He's up to something, isn't he?" Peter asked resignedly.

"Of course he is, Wormtail." Remus shook his head. "I hope it's nothing too bad."

"You mean like last year, when he charmed the entire train red and gold?" Lily asked, wrapping both of her hands around James' arm as they were pushed through the great doors by the rest of the students.

"What's your proof?" James asked with a smirk. Lily was silent. "Exactly." She rolled her eyes at his satisfied tone. They walked through the great doors, and onto the snow covered grounds.

"Why does the station have to be in Hogsmeade?" Lily groaned as they trekked through the snow to the carriages. The rest of the school was breaking into various groups ahead, and several were already being carried away in the thestral-drawn vehicles.. She tripped over a lump of snow, and James slipped an arm around her waist to keep her from falling. She opened her mouth, then bit her lip, face red. "Thanks." she muttered as he released her. "No problem." He responded, eyebrows raised at her lack of retort.

Peter grinned. "Look! Padfoot and Marlene are already in a wagon and- Merlin!" he squeaked out the last bit, eyes wide.

Remus chuckled as he looked up. "It's a carriage, Wormy. Not a wa-" He paused as his eyes found the couple in the carriage. "Bet no one saw that coming." He said sarcastically, a wry grin on his face.

Lily cleared her throat. "I didn't see it coming,' she winked, her frosty eyes giving the gesture an eerie air. Her hair fell into her face, obscuring it from view. "But I knew it would happen. I assume they've gotten together?"

"Looks like it. But no way you saw it coming." Peter scoffed. He paused, looking at the couple again."I've never seen him do that.." Sirius had plopped himself directly beside Marley. His face was very near to the side of her face, his nose brushing her hair. His arm was haphazardly thrown around her shoulder. She giggled as he presumably continued his story, gesturing with his free hand. He paused as she turned her head, then kissed him on the lips. As they pulled away, she blushed and he grinned at her, tucking a stray piece of her hair away from her face before resuming his story. The group watched the carriage roll away, until a few Slytherins in the next carriage making rude gestures knocked them out of their revery.

"Did they honestly just kiss?" Remus asked in amazement.

"He really likes her." James replied.

"Then why did she have to make the first move?" The boys looked at the blind girl in astonishment.

Remus was the first to respond. "I don't think she did."

Lily scoffed. "I do! She kissed him because she wanted to be first!"

"First?" James laughed. "You don't know that." he glanced at Peter, who shrugged, then at Remus, who nodded. James' eyes widened, but Lily continued on, oblivious and blind.

"Yeah, I do." Lily flipped her hair over her shoulder. Her white eyes were devoid of their usual fire. "She didn't want his first kiss to be because of some dare!"

"Dare?"

Lily paled as Peter continued. "What dare?"

James raised an eyebrow at Remus. "I think we've missed something, Moony."

Remus glanced at Lily, who was hiding her red face beneath her hands. "_You_ might've missed something, but I think it's best we let it be. She couldn't tell us, even if she wanted to. Could you, Lily?"

She shook her head mutely, not looking up. James gave Remus an astonished look, then looked to Peter.

Peter glared at Remus. "You.. You.. Ugh!" Having found nothing more to say after wracking his brain, he contented himself to muttering. "Lousy git. All the things he could've told us about the girls..." He kicked at a pile of snow, hands in his pockets.

Remus groaned, knowing Peter's temper. "Come off it, mate. You knew I was friends with Lily. It's never bugged you before. Now come on, Grab this carriage before they do." with this he pointed at the only other group yet to secure a ride- Two 7th years currently snogging quite heatedly.

Peter shuddered, mumbling something about stupid love, then hopped into the carriage, followed by Remus.

"Up you g-" James was interrupted as Lily lost her footing on the carriage step, and fell onto him. He caught her bridal-style and gaped comically at his friends as she gave a glazed stare to the sky. She groaned.

"I am so tired." She stated blandly. "Am I too heavy?" she asked James, who still hadn't moved.

"You're kidding, right?" James said in reply. He shrugged at his friends as he stepped into the carriage, still holding the disabled girl. "You can't be healthy." He set Lily on the seat between him and Remus.

"Uh, no." She said snapped."I'm not. Tortured and cursed, remember?" She crossed her arms across her chest protectively, blank eyes glaring into space yet again.

"Lily.. He's just trying to help." Remus said cautiously. "We all are."

"I don't need any help." Lily said coldly.

"When was the last time you slept, Lily?" James asked firmly.

She paled. "That's none of your business, Potter."

"It is our business, as your friends." He said sternly. "And don't give me that codswallop about us not being friends. We are, and you know it. Marley was worried about you, so she told Sirius what was going on. Sirius told us." He shook his head. "You have to let us help you."

Lily bit her lip, arms still crossed. Then she sighed, a long, heavy sound. "Marley should mind her own business." she laid her head on Jame's shoulder. "Fine. Don't get any ideas, mister. I'm just going to rest my eyes." She closed her misty eyes, her face relaxing.

Peter looked at James in amazement. Remus grinned. As Lily's breathing evened, the carriage made short work of the trip to Hogsmeade, and they soon found themselves on the platform.

"Uh.." James started, looking helplessly at his friends as they exited the carriage. "Do you want to carry her, Moony?"

"Why?" the dark-haired boy asked.

"I don't think she's all that thrilled with me.. And I don't think she'd appreciate the rumors."

Remus nodded slowly. "That makes sense.." He reached across the seat and scooped the sleeping girl into his arms. "She really needs to eat more."

James looked worried as he watched Remus navigate down the steps. "Think she's been eating enough?"

Peter shook his head. "She hasn't. Mary told me that she's been acting really off lately. Stressed and jumpy and stuff. I guess she won't sit down to eat. Mary and Kayla freaked out about it." He blushed as the two marauders looked at him in amazement. "I got paired with Kayla and Mary last Charms class, when you were," he looked around cautiously, then back at Remus. "Sick."

Remus nodded, concentrating on maneuvering the train. "Ah."

"We need to get her better, guys." James said as they made it to the last door on the left. Sliding it open, Sirius hopped up from his seat, grinning as usual. James gave a cautious look around before ushering Remus in. "What, Mate? No decorations?"

"Nah," Sirius rubbed the back of his neck. "I figured it wasn't fair if she couldn't see them." He nodded towards the blind girl still asleep in Remus' arms. "Though if I'd known she'd be sleeping.." The marauders turned at the sound of the door to the compartment opening once again. A sullen looking Snape stood in the hall.

"She's... asleep." He said blandly, eyes focused on her pale face, and the dark circles under her eyes.

"She is." Remus said cautiously. The marauders stared at Snape, who was staring at Lily's emaciated frame with what could only be described as broken-heartedness. Finally, he looked at Remus. "Tell her I'm sorry, would you? And if you could.. She won't read it, but just.. Give this to her?" He held out a sealed parchment. Remus nodded, shifting the girl in his arms to take the paper. Snape crossed his arms, refusing eye contact with any of the marauders. James considered him for a moment, then offered the sallow boy a handshake. Severus looked at his hand, then at him. Wordlessly, he turned and walked out of the compartment.

"Tosser." Sirius snorted, closing the door once again.

The boys took their seats. "Wonder what it says." Sirius mused, glancing out the window.

"Can't be anything good." James responded quietly, eying the sleeping girl. "Reckon we should lose it?"

"Prongs, you know that'll just tick her off even more." Sirius warned.

"Yeah, but I can guarantee it'll hurt her more than it'll help her." James defended.

Peter eyed the boys carefully. "Prong's is right about that one, mate."

Remus awkwardly handed the letter to the bespectacled boy, shifting the blind girl around. She groaned, eyes opening. "What's going on? Where are we?" she attempted to sit up, successfully hitting Remus in the nose with a flailing hand. In her struggle, she managed to knock herself to the floor. Remus held his bleeding nose in one hand, warding Peter off with his other. Lily still sat on the floor, her knees bent, her arms propped on top. Her hair was a fiery mess around her shoulders, her bangs falling haphazardly into her face. She listened carefully to the movements around her, bracing herself as Sirius quickly fixed Remus' nose.

"That was a lovely wake up call." She stated, finally. She grinned, holding a hand up. "Someone wanna help?"

James was quick to stuff the letter in the breast pocket of his blazer before grasping her hand. Standing, he pulled her to her feet, ushering her to the bench seat between him and Remus.

"How long was I asleep?" She asked the boys.

"Not long. Half an hour?" Remus responded, pulling a book from the trunk under his seat. Peter peered out the window, watching the scenery fly by. "It's snowing again." He glanced at Sirius. "Padfoot, wanna play Exploding Snap?"

Sirius looked at him. "Not a chance, you little rat." he grinned, winking at the blind Lily.

Peter rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Prongs?"

"Ever think that might not be the best game to play in closed quarters with a blind girl?" Remus asked, not looking up from his book.

"I second that." Lily added, still looking into space.

Peter rolled his eyes. "You people are no fun. What do you wanna do then?"

Sirius grinned. "I have an idea. Someone hand me my trunk, yeah?"

James and Remus looked at each other warily.

"You don't mean to-" Remus trailed off.

"Yes, mate. Yes I do." Sirius grinned, standing on the seat as he rummaged around in his trunk.

James groaned, and Peter looked afraid.

Lily spoke up, looking concerned. "What are you guys talking about?"

Sirius grinned, shutting his trunk and spinning around. In his hand he held a blue drawstring bag.

"What does he have?" Lily asked, blind eyes wide.

"Veritaserum sweets." James responded with a grin.

"Who's up for a game of Truth or Dare?" Sirius asked with a wicked smirk.

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**Thanks again for sticking around, guys. You're awesome. :) Please let me know what you think! The review box is right beneath this, already open and ready to be filled with your thoughts, questions, and desires for the direction of this story. xD**


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